Threat Matrix: March 2008

Previous Thread ^

[nwctwx]

Petraeus: Al Qaida Trying to 'Come Back In'

U.S. military officials said there will be no significant reduction in coalition troops in the Baghdad area as part of an effort to stop the Al Qaida offensive in northern Iraq.

They said Al Qaida was trying to reenter Baghdad and reverse its losses in 2007.

"Al Qaida is trying to come back in," U.S. military commander Gen. David Petraeus said. "We can feel it and see it, and what we're trying to do is rip out any roots before they can get deeply into the ground." Read More

	Militants Assert Themselves in Pakistan
	U.S. Optimistic about Afghanistan Reinforcements
	‘You Have to Rethink War’

Threat Matrix:
March 2008

February 2007

Threat Matrix Index

Theat Matrix Handbook

Theat Matrix 'BOLO'

Invaluable Tips

Preparedness

[drymans wife]

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,337013,00.html

llness Caused by Brain-Eating Amoeba Kills Calif. Firefighter

Wednesday, March 12, 2008

A firefighter in California has died from an illness that stems from a brain-eating amoeba he contracted late last year, it is reported by the Press Enterprise.

Matt Moore, a fire captain in Murrieta, Calif., became seriously ill in November and doctors were initially baffled as to what was causing his sickness, according to the report.

In January, doctors, using a brain biopsy, pinpointed the illness to parasitic meningoencephalitis, an extremely rare infection caused by the brain-eating amoeba Balamuthia mandrillaris. This amoeba, which invades the brain, is usually fatal.

Moore died this week at UC San Diego Medical Center Hillcrest from complications due to meningoencephalitis, a condition that simultaneously resembles both meningitis and encephalitis.

[Cindy]

Thanks for the heads up, drymans wife.

[Cindy]

Note: The following text is a quote:

http://www.treas.gov/press/releases/hp869.htm

March 12, 2008
HP-869

Treasury Designates Iran-Controlled Bank for Proliferation
Future Bank Controlled by Iran’s Bank Melli

Washington - The U.S. Department of the Treasury today designated Future Bank B.S.C. for being controlled by Iran’s Bank Melli, which was previously designated by the Treasury Department for facilitating Iran’s proliferation activities.

“Bank Melli goes to extraordinary lengths to assist Iran’s pursuit of a nuclear capability and ballistic missiles, while also helping other designated entities to dodge sanctions,” said Stuart Levey, Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence (TFI). “Banks and other entities owned or controlled by Bank Melli pose a serious threat to the integrity of the international financial system.”

Future Bank is being designated pursuant to Executive Order 13382, an authority aimed at freezing the assets of proliferators of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and their supporters. Bank Melli was designated by the Treasury Department under E.O. 13382 on October 25, 2007.

Future Bank was established in 2004 as a joint venture between two Iranian banks, Bank Melli and Bank Saderat, and a private bank based in Bahrain. Bank Melli and Bank Saderat each hold 33.3 percent of Future Bank’s outstanding shares. At the time of designation, Bank Melli and Future Bank publicly identify the same individual as chairman of both institutions. Other information available to the U.S. Government also demonstrates that Future Bank is controlled by Bank Melli.

The Government of Bahrain has taken responsible steps to try to prevent Future Bank from abusing the country’s financial system.

“Bahraini authorities have been closely monitoring Future Bank and took some steps after Treasury’s designations of Banks Melli and Saderat to attempt to prevent abuse by this institution,” Levey continued.

This designation is consistent with United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1803 of March 3, 2008, which calls upon Member States to “exercise vigilance” with regard to activities between financial institutions in their countries and all banks domiciled in Iran, in particular, Iran’s Bank Melli and Bank Saderat. UNSCR 1803 specifically calls on States to take such action in order to avoid these activities contributing to either proliferation sensitive nuclear activities or the development of nuclear weapons systems, as referred to in UNSCR 1737.

Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated Bank Melli pursuant to E.O. 13382 for providing, or attempting to provide, financial support for entities involved in Iran’s nuclear and missile programs. These include: the Shahid Hemmat Industrial Group, the Defense Industries Organization (DIO), Bank Sepah, and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). These entities have also been designated under E.O. 13382 and have been listed in UNSCRs 1737 and 1747. OFAC also designated four financial institutions that are owned or controlled by Bank Melli, including Melli Bank plc, Arian Bank, Bank Melli Iran ZAO, and Bank Kargoshaee.

On that same day, OFAC designated Bank Saderat pursuant to E.O. 13224 for providing support to the terrorist organizations Hizballah and Hamas.

Since President George W. Bush issued E.O. 13382 in June 2005 and identified eight entities in the Annex to the Order, a total of 51 entities and 12 individuals have been designated as proliferators of WMD. Specifically, the Treasury Department has designated:

36 entities and 11 individuals tied to Iranian proliferation activity;
Nine entities and one individual tied to North Korean proliferation activity; and
Three entities tied to Syrian proliferation activity.
Additionally, the State Department has designated three Iranian organizations as entities of proliferation concern, including Iran’s Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics (MODAFL), the DIO, and the IRGC.

The designation announced today is part of the ongoing interagency effort by the United States Government to combat WMD trafficking by exposing and blocking the property of entities and individuals that engage in proliferation activities and their support networks.

Future Bank Identifying Information

FUTURE BANK B.S.C.

Addresses:
P.O. Box 785, City Centre Building, Government Avenue, Manama, Bahrain
Block 304, City Centre Building, Building 199, Government Avenue, Road 383, Manama, Bahrain
All branches worldwide

For more information on the designation of Bank Melli, please visit: http://www.treas.gov/press/releases/hp644.htm.

[Cindy]

stepping back in time...

http://www.treas.gov/press/releases/hp644.htm

October 25, 2007
hp-644

“Fact Sheet: Designation of Iranian Entities and Individuals for Proliferation Activities and Support for Terrorism”

[Cindy]

http://mypetjawa.mu.nu/archives/191709.php

March 12, 2008

“US Receives Fingers of Iraq Hostages (Updated and Bumped)”

“A possible break in the case of the 5 kidnapped contractors? Via the Washington Post:”

VIENNA (Reuters) -

SNIPPET: “UPDATE: McClatchey Newspapers are reporting that one of the fingers belongs to Ronald Withrow, an American computer technician kidnapped in January 2007 in Basra, but who was not confirmed as being held by the kidnappers of the Crescent Security contractors:

Authorities have confirmed that the fingers belonged to hostages Jonathan Cote, of Gainesville, Fla., Joshua Munz, of Redding, Calif., Paul Reuben, of Buffalo, Minn., Bert Nussbaumer of Vienna, Austria, and Ronald J. Withrow, of Lubbock, Texas.
[. . .]

There was no word today on a fifth contractor who was seized with them, John Young, of Kansas City. Contrary to Austrian news reports, none of the fingers belonged to him, authorities said.”

[Cindy]

http://www.truthusa.com/MoreThanCartoons.html

#

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080312/ap_on_re_as/thailand_denmark_protest

See Poster with a beheaded subject here with the poster caption: “It must be cut off!”

PHOTO CAPTION - QUOTE:

Thai-Muslim protesters chant slogans next to a photo of a Danish cartoonist during a protest outside the Danish embassy in Bangkok, Thailand Wednesday, March 12, 2008. Some 800 Thai Muslims took part in the protest against the reprinting of a cartoon in Danish newspapers perceived as insulting to Islam. (AP Photo/Apichart Weerawong)

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080312/ap_on_re_as/thailand_denmark_protest

“Thai Muslims protest Danish cartoon”
Wed Mar 12, 5:21 AM ET

ARTICLE SNIPPET: “BANGKOK, Thailand - About 800 Thai Muslims protested outside Denmark’s embassy Wednesday against Danish newspapers’ reprinting of a cartoon perceived as insulting to Islam.

Members of an organization called the Muslim Group of Peace demonstrated peacefully outside the Bangkok embassy for about two hours and called on all Thai Muslims to boycott Danish products.”

ARTICLE SNIPPET: “Muslims are a minority in Buddhist-dominated Thailand, which faces a bloody Islamic insurgency in its southernmost provinces.”

[Cindy]

blog:

Note: Includes video.

http://littlegreenfootballs.com/weblog/?entry=29251_Media_Malfeasance-_Staging_Islamophobia_in_Holland&only

“Media Malfeasance: Staging ‘Islamophobia’ in Holland”
Wed, Mar 12, 2008 at 1:01:42 pm PST

SNIPPET: “Last month we had a post about ABC News and their completely phony story about “Islamophobia” in Texas, in which they planted an actor wearing Islamic clothes and an actor playing a bigot, had the phony “bigot” say scripted abusive lines to the phony “Muslim,” then filmed the reactions of other people to “prove” that Americans are bigoted “Islamophobic” reactionaries.

I’m going to run out of scare quotes at this rate.

Well, our sophisticated, nuanced European brethren in the Netherlands have taken this concept one rather amazing step further.

Dutch TV station 101tv had an actress wearing Western clothing drop some packages on a sidewalk, then filmed as lots of people rushed to her aid and helped her pick up the groceries.

Then they put the same actress in a burqa, and had her drop the groceries again. This time nobody helped her. Islamophobia! Bigotry!

Uh... except that, unfortunately for 101tv, another crew from a different TV station happened to be there at the same time—and they filmed as person after person did approach the burqa-clad woman to help, but were chased away by the 101tv crew, who shouted things like, “Keep walking! We’re filming!” and “Guys, stop that!”

Here’s a video clip of this ridiculous staged news event (in Dutch, but you can clearly see what’s going on):”

[Cindy]

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1984650/posts

http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=080312174752.a9tma0bi&show_article=1
(AFP)

“Pacemakers at danger from hackers: study”

Mar 12 01:48 PM US/Eastern

[Cindy]

http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=49255

“Cheney: 25 Years After Reagan’s ‘Star Wars,’ Missile Defense Remains Critical”

By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, March 12, 2008

[Cindy]

Note: The following text is a quote:

http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=49257

Al Qaeda in Iraq Damaged, But Remains Dangerous

By Gerry J. Gilmore
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, March 12, 2008 – Coalition and Iraqi military efforts directed against al Qaeda in Iraq and other insurgents over the past few months have achieved much success toward making the country a more stable and secure place for its people, a senior U.S. military officer in Iraq said today.

However, recent terrorist attacks against U.S. and Iraqi security forces highlight the fact that more work needs to be done, Army Maj. Gen. Kevin Bergner, a Multinational Force Iraq spokesman, told reporters at a Baghdad news conference.

“Even though violence is dramatically reduced from 2006 and 2007, this has unquestionably been a tough few days and reflects what we repeatedly have said: that al Qaeda in Iraq is a resilient and barbaric enemy,” Bergner said.

The recent spate of al Qaeda-committed attacks in Baghdad and elsewhere in the country “may be an effort to divert attention” from successes gained against al Qaeda in Mosul and other parts of northern Iraq, Bergner said.

“But, regardless, we have consistently said this is a tough fight, and although al Qaeda in Iraq has been damaged, it remains lethal,” he said.

Meanwhile, more and more Iraqi troops, police and local concerned citizens groups are contributing in the fight against the insurgents, Bergner said. “This fight continues every day as coalition forces train Iraqi forces to patrol with them and conduct combined operations with them,” the two-star general said.

Bergner cited an operation yesterday in Diyala province, where Iraqi soldiers acting on a local citizen’s tip seized a large cache of weapons and munitions. That cache contained hand grenades, rocket-propelled grenades, blasting caps, AK-47 rifles and numerous small-arms ammunition.

In another operation yesterday, Iraqi police on patrol northeast of Samarra seized 80 mortar rounds, seven mortar tubes, a dozen rockets, 100 boosters, and five improvised explosive devices, Bergner said. “All of these munitions were safely disposed of before they could be used in attacks,” he said.

In addition, Iraqi, coalition and Georgian army troops acted in concert during a March 7-8 cordon-and-search operation south of Baghdad, Bergner said. This operation cleared villages of insurgent hideouts, secured a local water-pumping station, and uncovered enemy weapons caches.

On March 7, Iraqi civilians residing southwest of Mosul turned in a weapons cache containing 90 mm mortars to Iraqi police and coalition forces, Bergner said.

“Every day, Iraqis reject violence, and every day, Iraqi and coalition forces cooperate to help these people,” the general said.

As Iraqi and coalition security forces continue to make military gains against al Qaeda and other insurgents, advances are being made on the economic and political fronts, as well, Bergner said.

For example, he said, contracts have been written up to build a new multimillion-dollar dairy plant in Abu Ghraib, near Baghdad. The dairy plant will take about 10 months to construct, he said, noting it’ll provide employment for 150 Iraqis.

Bergner was accompanied at the news conference by Michael Yost, a senior U.S. Department of Agriculture official in Iraq to evaluate the country’s agricultural potential. Yost also had just attended Iraq’s first agricultural ministry conference, featuring 300 Iraqi representatives and about 30 international advisors, Bergner noted.

Iraq’s long growing season and other favorable factors provide the potential for it to produce high-value crops, Yost told reporters at the news conference. “We need to finance (Iraqi) farmers,” Yost said. “This sector of the Iraqi economy has been in a state of neglect and mismanagement for a number of years.”

In addition, Iraq’s irrigation system must be revitalized, and projects need to be initiated to desalinize Iraqi farmland, Yost said.

The main goal is to put Iraqi farmers on the path so they can become the breadbasket for their fellow citizens, he said. “That’s what we came over here to do, and I think we have started the process,” Yost said.

[Cindy]

http://www.truthusa.com/IRAN.html

http://www.thememriblog/iran

http://www.memri.org/bin/articles.cgi?Page=countries&Area=iran&ID=IA42608

#

http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/egypt/

http://www.memri.org/bin/articles.cgi?Page=countries&Area=egypt&ID=IA42608

#

http://www.memri.org/bin/articles.cgi?Page=countries&Area=egypt&ID=IA42608

Inquiry and Analysis Series - No. 426
March 12, 2008 No. 426

“Iran’s Attempts to Renew Relations with Egypt”
By: A. Savyon AND Y. Mansharof and L. Azuri *

[Cindy]

http://www.terrorism-info.org.il/malam_multimedia/English/eng_n/html/mar4_11_08e.htm

Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center
at the Israel Intelligence Heritage & Commemoration Center (IICC)

“News of the Israeli-Palestinian Confrontation
March 4-11, 2008”
(March 12, 2008)

[Cindy]

Note: The following news brief is a quote:

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3518482,00.html

4 Qassams fired at Sderot; no injuries reported
Published: 03.13.08, 00:20 / Israel News

Four Qassam rockets were fired at Sderot from the northern Gaza Strip. Two rockets landed in town and caused some damage, while two other rockets landed outside the city.

No injuries were reported in the attack. (Shmulik Hadad)

[Cindy]

http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/france/

#

http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1205261314546&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

Mar 12, 2008 17:02 | Updated Mar 12, 2008 22:08
“Anti-Peres Protesters: Eliminate Israel”
By JPOST.COM STAFF

ARTICLE SNIPPET: “While the French state welcomed President Shimon Peres in official ceremonies of unprecedented pomp, some Frenchmen were less enthusiastic: Dozens of people in Lyon protested against Peres’s tour of the city on Wednesday, holding signs with the slogans “Eliminate Israel” and “Israel is unlawful.””

ARTICLE SNIPPET: “The protest led by Palestinian demonstrators, outside Le musée de la resistance was a dissonant note in a lengthy visit during which Peres was mostly warmly welcomed.”

ARTICLE SNIPPET: “Fillon told Peres that Israel’s security was at the center of the French government’s concerns. “France sees eye to eye with Israel on the Iranian nuclear threat and steadfastly opposes Iran arming itself with nuclear weapons,” Fillon told Peres.”

[Cindy]

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1984681/posts

“[Texas: Mexican]Girl says she was kidnapped, used as sex slave”
Houston Chronicle ^ | March 12, 2008 | RUTH RENDON
Posted on 03/12/2008 3:33:08 PM PDT by SwinneySwitch

[Cindy]

...and now for our afternoon “entertainment” news:

http://thepost.com.pk/EditorialNews.aspx?dtlid=149504&catid=10

“Omar’s suggestion”

OP/ED SNIPPET: “In a breakthrough interview with the private TV Channel 5, Omar bin Laden, son of al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, has urged the world to persuade the US to initiate talks with his father. Significantly, the eldest progeny of Osama claimed that the real conflict between US President George Bush and his father revolved around oil.”
(March 12, 2008)

#

http://www.zeenews.com/articles.asp?aid=429675&sid=SAS

“Its wrong to link my brother to Bhutto killing: Osama’s son”
Islamabad, March 11: Al-Qaeda chief Osama Bin Laden`s contractor son O

ARTICLE SNIPPET: “Omar has said it was wrong to blame his Afghanistan-based younger brother Hamza for former Pakistan premier Benazir Bhutto`s assassination as he was “too young” to have done such a thing.

In her last book “Reconciliation: Islam, Democracy and The West”, Bhutto wrote that she had received information last year that Hamza was the leader of one of the four suicide squads sent to target her.

But 26-year-old Omar, who was recently in news for marrying a 51-year-old British grandmother, said it was “completely wrong” to put the blame for Bhutto`s murder on his younger brother Hamza, a member of al-Qaeda in Afghanistan. He also said Hamza was “too young” to kill Bhutto.

In an interview with Pakistan`s channel five in Cairo, Omar, a contractor, said the suicide bombings in the country were tragic. He said he was ready to interact with the Pakistani leadership to bring peace and stability to the country.

Omar, who has spent time in Pakistan, said he had been told that former premier Nawaz Sharif was a friend of his father. If circumstances permitted, Omar said, he would meet Sharif.

He also said he had no information about al-Qaeda`s presence in Pakistan`s tribal areas. The Pakistani government, he felt, should work towards a solution to the problems in the tribal areas.”

[Cindy]

RECAP:

http://www.terrortracker.co.uk/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=2402

The following text is a quote:

Bin Laden son named al-Qaeda heir
Posted by: Neil on Thursday, February 07, 2008 - 12:02 AM

Saana, 6 Feb. (AKI) - Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden’s youngest son Hamza is being groomed to take over from his father as leader of the terror network, says former Islamist Yemeni militant, Muhammad Sayd.

#

Note: Photo included:

http://www.adnkronos.com/AKI/English/Security/?id=1.0.1850053394

“Terrorism: Bin Laden son named al-Qaeda heir”

ARTICLE SNIPPET: “Saana, 6 Feb. (AKI) - Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden’s youngest son Hamza is being groomed to take over from his father as leader of the terror network, says former Islamist Yemeni militant, Muhammad Sayd.

Sayd told the Arab satellite TV network Al-Arabiya that the 16-year old had been selected for the role.”

(February 6, 2008)

#

Note: Photo included.

http://www.news.com.au/common/imagedata/0,,5649894,00.jpg

http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,22396488-663,00.html
(AP, FOX NEWS SUNDAY)

“Bin Laden son Hamza rises to al-Qaida cause”
September 11, 2007 12:00am

ARTICLE SNIPPET: “ON THE sixth anniversary of the 9/11 tragedy, Osama bin Laden remains free — but he could now be joined in his campaign by his son, Hamza.

Militant sources say while bin Laden’s whereabouts are unknown, Hamza has recently come to the tribal belt, the al-Qaida stronghold on Pakistan and Afghanistan’s border.

The news came from a militant who was formerly in one of bin Laden’s camps before 9/11 and maintains links with groups affiliated with him.

Referring to bin Laden by his nom de guerre of “sheik,” he said: “Sheik’s own son, young Hamza, is now here and he is among friends.

“No one has any idea where bin Laden is.

“Two-and-a-half years ago he was in (Afghanistan’s eastern province of) Kunar and we do not know where he is now.”

Hamza, bin Laden’s second son and still in his mid-teens, is thought to be taking a senior role in al-Qaida’s growing guerilla network in Afghanistan.

Bin Laden is believed to have 27 children. His first son, Saad, in his late 20s, is also playing a key role in al-Qaida.”

#

http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=15d_1194073579

[Cindy]

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1984696/posts

“Security Card Chip Can Be Hacked”
Breitbart ^ | 3/12/08 | TOBY STERLING
Posted on 03/12/2008 4:00:45 PM PDT by kiriath_jearim

[Cindy]

Note: The following post is a quote:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1984703/posts

Hero soldiers returning from Afghanistan kept on board plane for six hours in Britain
Daiy Mail UK ^ | Mar. 12, 2008
Posted on 03/12/2008 4:07:58 PM PDT by Alouette

More than 100 British soldiers were forced to wait for six hours on a plane because their uniforms represented a security risk, it has been claimed.

The treatment of the soldiers, who were returning from fighting on the front line in Afghanistan for one week’s “rest and recuperation”, was described by MPs today as “clumsy and insulting” and “outrageous and unacceptable”.

The Ministry of Defence said that what had happened had clearly been “regrettable”.

The soldiers’ plane had been due to land at the Oxfordshire RAF base Brize Norton but freezing fog forced a diversion to Manchester Airport.

Although they touched down at 5.30am, the 128 soldiers of the 2nd Battalion Yorkshire Regiment - also known as the Green Howards - were unable to leave the plane until 11.30am.

By that time the plane had been diverted away from the passenger terminal and to the freight terminal.

The soldiers - many of them fresh from direct combat with Taliban forces just hours before - were then forced to stand in freezing weather until coaches could pick them up 50 minutes later.

With no money on them - it was waiting in Brize Norton - the troops were not able to eat at a service station en route, going without food between 5am and the late afternoon as well as losing a day they had planned to spend with loved ones.

Serving soldiers are not allowed to comment, but a friend of an officer on board said: “I was appalled at this shabby treatment of our very professional troops doing a most dangerous job.

“These gallant men should be praised and applauded in public areas, not treated like unwelcome criminals.

“The treatment at Manchester Airport must be official policy. This makes the insults even worse.”

Patrick Mercer, the former Conservative shadow armed forces minister who spent time recently with the Yorkshire Regiment in Afghanistan, said: “To treat them like this is clumsy and insulting.”

Shipley MP Philip Davies added: “To treat our Yorkshire soldiers who have been away fighting on the front line so appallingly is outrageous and unacceptable.

“Whoever was responsible for this should hang their head in shame.”

The Ministry of Defence today described the delay as “regrettable” but said there were no issues with uniforms or security.

A spokesman said the soldiers had remained on board at Manchester waiting for fog to clear so the February 19 flight could take off for Brize Norton - but by the time visibility had got better the pilots had run out of “flying time” and had to take a break.

He said: “They landed and waited for the weather to clear and they would have taken off again but pilots have flight times and their allotted time ran out and they had to take a break.

“That was basically their cut-off point. They waited until the last possible moment to try to fly back but after that it was decided that they would have to be taken by coach.

“It had nothing to do with security. It had nothing to do with uniforms.”

He said there was another delay while the coaches - supplied by a contract provider - were organised at short notice.

The spokesman added: “There was a delay, which was regrettable. However, it was nothing to do with security.”

The MoD said the Army was “relaxed” about soldiers wearing uniforms through airports when planes had been diverted - and civilian clothing was only required for regular charter flights which could present a security risk.

A Manchester Airport spokesman said it had been the pilot’s decision to wait for a break in the fog in the hope of returning to Brize Norton.

[Cindy]

That’s it...

Global jihad and the global war on terror — another day.