Threat Matrix: December 2008

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[nwctwx]

The Age of 'Celebrity Terrorism'

Quite apart from the scores murdered and the hundreds injured, what the Mumbai terrorists really wanted was an exaggerated - and preferably extreme - reaction on the part of governments, the media and public opinion.

In these terms, the attackers received as much attention as they could possibly have hoped for, and the Mumbai outrage can only be described as a very significant terrorist success.

The attack received saturation coverage in the world's media from the outset. Read More

	Mumbai Terrorist Attack May Affect U.S. Foreign Policy
	Nuke, Bioterror Attack Called Likely
	Zawahri Hails Executed Bali Bombers

Threat Matrix:
December 2008

November 2008

Threat Matrix Index

Theat Matrix Handbook

Theat Matrix 'BOLO'

Invaluable Tips

Preparedness

[WestCoastGal]

Thanks for the link, I grabbed the other item from Twitter this morning. :)

[Velveeta]

White House: Audiotape shows bin Laden is isolated
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090114/ap_on_go_pr_wh/white_house_bin_laden_tape_2

[Velveeta]

Laura’s working on the bin Laden translation

http://www.lauramansfield.com/subscribers/

[jersey117]

Mr. Obama’s incoming chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, said it was “a very, very important meeting.” ......

Hmmm. I hope they realize that it's no joke when you actually see the threats coming in. I really wish they would reconsider and drop Panetta as CIA chief.

[Velveeta]

Chicago

Metra train halted; passengers searched

Metra BNSF Line trains are stopped in the west suburbs this morning as police armed with semi-automatic weapons evacuated and searched train passengers in Lisle, officials said.

Metra spokesman Tom Miller said the No. 1252 express train had been stopped at the Lisle station since around 8 a.m., but only said “police activity” was the reason and had no further comment. The express train, scheduled to arrive at Chicago’s Union Station at 8:34 a.m., was not scheduled to stop at the Lisle.

A source said a passenger reported overhearing a male passenger say he had a gun and called police from a cell phone. Riders were cleared from the first three train cars and were being searched this morning, one witness said.....

http://www.chicagobreakingnews.com/2009/01/metra-train-halted-passengers-searched.html

[Velveeta]

I agree with you. Panetta just does not seem at all like the right man for the position.

[Velveeta]

Update on Chicago Metra train incident:

Metra train stopped in Lisle due to police activity

Metra trains headed into and out of Chicago have been stopped and thousands of passengers delayed as police investigate reports of a suspicious man who may or may not be on one of those trains in Lisle.

Just before 8 a.m. Wednesday a suspicious person was hanging around the main Naperville train station, 105 4th Ave. and according to a ticket agent at the station, was asking “unusual questions relating to security,” Naperville Police Lt. Dave Hoffman said.

The ticket agent was unsure whether the man left the station on foot or if he got on a train. The train he would have gotten on was Metra Burlington Northern Santa Fe train No. 1252. When that train got to Lisle, it was stopped and police have been looking for that man.

Hoffman said the man was described as a white male, in his early 30s, 6-foot-2, with a medium build, wearing a green jacket with a hooded sweatshirt and carrying a knapsack.....
http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/1376891,w-metra-police-activity-011409.article

[Godzilla]

It is becoming apparent that OBL has lost much of his status and stature among the jihadists. AQ’s loss in Iraq and the pounding AQ/Taliban elements have been taking in pakistan by our planes are further evidence. He is still dangerous as a figure head that rising jihadi groups can point to for inspiration.

[Velveeta]

Catherine Herridge reports that the intelligence community says UBL’s voice is very weak and monotone. She also said there are indicators that he’s asking for money.

I think you’re right that he’s lost much of his status.

[Velveeta]

Chicago train incident update (you’re not going to believe this one!)

‘Suspicious’ rider was Secret Service agent

The suspicious person who caused an unscheduled two-hour stop for a Metra train this morning and a search of its passengers was a U.S. Secret Service agent.

Metra spokeswoman Judy Pardonnet said the incident began when a plainclothes Secret Service agent asked a Naperville ticket agent whether there were metal detectors aboard the BNSF Line train and indicated he was carrying a gun.

“He did not identify himself as any type of law-enforcement officer. That concerned the ticket agent,” Pardonnet said.....
http://www.chicagobreakingnews.com/2009/01/metra-train-halted-passengers-searched.html

[Grammy]

I volunteer with the Red Cross and we received notification this afternoon to be on call for a “national event”. What this means is they are preparing for a “possible event” in connection with the inauguration, so that they could have national disaster teams respond within 3 days.

We received similar national calls last year in connection with hurricanes and the mid west flooding that occurred, and local alerts for several severe weather situations.

[Velveeta]

Afghan girls brave terror to return to school
http://www.iht.com/articles/2009/01/13/asia/kandahar.php

[Velveeta]

Thanks for the report, Grammy.
And pinging others to your post.

[Godzilla]

Catherine Herridge reports that the intelligence community says UBL’s voice is very weak and monotone.

IIRC, OBL has kidney disease and needs regular dialysis. The pressure may be causing him to get inadequate treatment.

[Velveeta]

UN-acceptable censorship: The United Nations tries to outlaw criticism of Islam
http://www.nydailynews.com/opinions/2009/01/14/2009-01-14_unacceptable_censorship_the_united_natio.html

[WestCoastGal]

thanks for the ping Vel.

Pinging Lucy since I don’t know if she’s on your list.

[Polarik]

Not only has the Red Cross been put on alert, but also the military and police departments across the country. An additional 4,000 National guard were activated just for DC.

This is unprecedented.

So was the PRIVATE meeting between the President-elect, Vice-President-elect, and SCOTUS, Only twice before have SCOTUS met with the new White House administration, but never have they had a meeting ib January and so close to Inauguration, and a private one as well.

The $64,000 question is, "Did Chief Justice Roberts tell Obama that he is in deep sh*t? Or did they have some kind of "agreement" that lets Obama slide home free?"

My money is still on Bambi's early retirement from politics.

[Oorang]

Thanks for the ping Velveeta and thanks to Grammy for the info.

_____________________________

Feds Cite Racist Chatter for ‘Higher State of Alert’ in Inauguration
Tuesday, 13 January 2009

Federal agents are on “a higher state of alert” because of hate talk by white supremacists about Barack Obama’s Inauguration, officials told the New York Daily News on Tuesday.

“That chatter is out there, no doubt about it,” one senior FBI agent in Washington told me this afternoon, adding that no credible plots against the 56th Presidential Inauguration have been detected. The Bureau has ordered agents in all 56 field offices to “shake the trees” in advance of the Jan. 20 swearing-in of the 44th President, who will become the first African-American to occupy the Oval Office. “They’re talking to sources to determine if there is any threat information in regard to the Inauguration,” the FBI source said.

Excerpted

http://www.nationalterroralert.com/updates/2009/01/13/feds-cite-racist-chatter-for-higher-state-of-alert-in-inauguration/

FBI shares threat-tips with local police agencies
1/13/09

The FBI has launched a system to share tips about possible terror threats with local police agencies just in time for the presidential inauguration. The program aims to get law enforcement at all levels sharing data quickly about suspicious activity and people, particularly in and around the nation's capital in the week leading up to the historic ceremony.

Officials say they are getting as many as 1,000 tips a day from the public. Called e-Guardian, the program had been delayed and underwent a smaller pilot project before launching New Year's Eve as a system available to law enforcement agencies around the country. Federal authorities hope the new system overcomes a drawback of another version, which lets police report their suspicions to the FBI but doesn't allow officers to search the system for similar patterns in other jurisdictions. The program "will allow all law enforcement to share threats and suspicious activity and hopefully prevent a terrorist attack," said FBI supervisor Gerald Rogero, in Washington. Of the 1,000 tips, a dozen might be worth noting in the new system.

Excerpted

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hL3umBJaWDcpCfHcC8dYusyy-gIQD95MI9BG1

Somali Militants Issue Biography of American Jihadist
1/13/09

The NEFA Foundation has obtained and translated a biography issued by the Shebaab al-Mujahideen Movement in Somalia of an American jihadi recruit recently killed in a missile strike in southern Somalia.

Former Seattle, Washington-resident Ruben Shumpert (a.k.a. Amir Abdul Muhaimeen) was allegedly under investigation by the FBI for distributing jihadi video recordings and providing weapons training before Shumpert fled the U.S. with the help of local Somali Islamic extremists living in Washington.

Excerpted

http://www.nefafoundation.org/documents-original.html#shumpert0109

[Polarik]

WTF??

The word, "Jew," "Jewish," or "Chabad" are not even mentioned in this "Threat Matrix," despite the deliberate attacks on Jews first and Westerners second! Did they ignore the fact that Jews were targeted first and tortured to death? Did they think that these MF's sexual mutilation of a Rabbi and his wife were not newsworthy?

But, in fairness to the Indian security forces, several security experts say that even an American city faced with simultaneous attacks at a rail station. But, in fairness to the Indian security forces, several security experts say that even an American city faced with simultaneous attacks at a rail station, major hotel, tourist hub, and religious center would be hard pressed to muster enough commandos.

Aw, bull! Every SWAT team team in the country would have been better equipped and done a better job, if it ever got that far. For whom are we making excuses?

Mumbai is about as soft a target as they come. Read the last paragraph:

Terrorist violence is nothing new, especially to Mumbai. In 1993, 15 bombs killed 257 in the country's financial and entertainment capital. In 2006, more than 200 people died after a coordinated strike on the city's transit system.

So, after all those attacks, why on Earth did the police only have WWII-issue weapons?

Low-tech attacks can do tremendous damage. The attack itself appears to have required little specialized knowledge from the attackers. Automatic rifles and hand grenades appear to have done the most damage

Yet, another bogus comment. These attacks were conducted by terrorists well-trained in paramilitary skills. The attack was masterfully planned and carried out with far more precision than anyone imagined back when this article came out. sad to say.

So, why are we revisiting this post?

[Oorang]

What Will Obama Do with Mohammed Al-Qahtani?
1/14/09

On Aug. 4, 2001, a young Saudi named Mohammed Al-Qahtani tried to gain entry into the United States via the airport in Orlando Florida but was denied by an immigration inspector who found him highly suspicious. Al-Qahtani was sent home.

What the immigration inspector did not know, but the 9/11 Commission Report would later reveal, was that Mohammed Atta was in the airport's passenger pick-up area awaiting Al-Qahtani's arrival. Atta made several telephone phone calls from an airport pay phone while Qahtani was being questioned. Al-Qahtani was later captured on the battlefield in Afghanistan, in late 2002.

Excerpted

http://www.theaviationnation.com/2009/01/14/what-will-obama-do-with-mohammed-al-qahtani/