Private Sector Says Terrorism, Maritime Piracy, Corruption Among Growing Threats

YOU ARE HERE: Home > Reports > Global Security Concerns > Report Top Private-Sector Security Concerns in 2008 GLOBAL SECURITY CONCERNS Worldwide 7 Jan 2009

Terrorism loomed large as one of the top security concerns of 2008 for U.S. businesses, nongovernmental organizations and academic institutions operating overseas, according to private sector constituents of the Overseas Security Advisory Council (OSAC).

“This past year we saw terrorist attacks against U.S. and other Western interests in northern Africa, the Arabian peninsula, in Afghanistan and Pakistan, and in Turkey,” said Todd Brown, a Special Agent with the Department of State’s Bureau of Diplomatic Security and Executive Director of OSAC. “And the targets of these attacks have been not only U.S. Government facilities and personnel, but in some cases U.S.-based businesses and non-governmental organizations.”

While not all terrorist incidents tracked by OSAC in 2008 involved U.S. victims, these attacks — which often targeted other Western entities — have raised concerns for U.S. firms and organizations operating in areas experiencing attacks, said Brown. The most significant such incident occurred in Mumbai, India, with the late November assault on landmark hotels and a Jewish community center, among other targets. This attack highlighted two growing concerns for the U.S. private sector: the perception of an increasing terrorist threat in India, and a broader concern for hotel safety worldwide.

According to the year-end analysis of reports from OSAC members and other unclassified information, the U.S. private sector faced several other security threats abroad, including maritime piracy, corruption, and violence fueled by competition among drug lords vying for markets in the illicit drug trade.

“Clearly, the variety of security incidents of 2008 demonstrates that U.S. private-sector organizations must develop comprehensive security strategies, share and have access to timely threat information, and have response and recovery plans already in place to sustain their overseas operations in today’s threat environment,” Brown said.

The OSAC analysis identified the sea lanes off the coast of Somalia as increasingly susceptible to maritime pirate attacks. Pirates seized more than 40 vessels off the Somali coast in 2008, threatening the safety of navigation, impeding trade, and increasing insurance costs for vessels operating in the Gulf of Aden.

Corruption in some European countries was another challenge that the U.S. private sector faced in 2008. OSAC members reported that greater demand by local officials for bribes to award contracts, issue permits, and provide other services as part of their official duties made it increasingly difficult to comply with the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.

The U.S. private sector became increasingly concerned in 2008 with the threat of rebel attacks in Colombia and drug cartel violence in Mexico, according to OSAC.

Interest in business opportunities in Colombia resulted in U.S. firms asking OSAC about that nation’s security environment and the threat posed by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). OSAC noted that “the Colombian government has achieved major successes against the FARC in recent years,” while also recognizing that private industry remains concerned about continuing capabilities of the FARC and other illegal armed groups.

Drug trafficking-related violence in Mexico hit an all-time high in 2008, said OSAC, leading many of its members to question the costs of operating in such an insecure environment, especially along the U.S.-Mexican border. “From shootouts near facilities to a grenade attack at a national holiday event, the chance of being in the wrong place at the wrong time increased markedly, particularly in major trafficking areas, including near the U.S.-Mexico border,” the OSAC analysis reported.

This year-end security review is based on reports from OSAC constituents, news media and other unclassified sources, and informational products developed by OSAC’s regional specialists and delivered to its private-sector members throughout the year, explained Brown.

“By working with our OSAC partners, sharing our analysis, and pushing out our information, we aim to help the U.S. private sector better prepare for, respond to, and recover from the security challenges that may arise in the coming year,” said Brown.

The following is OSAC’s list of the past year’s top overseas security challenges to the American private sector.

The international waters near Somalia, and particularly the Gulf of Aden, have seen increasing numbers of maritime pirate attacks. Of the 440 such attacks recorded off the Somali coast since 1984, more than 120 occurred in 2008. Merchant vessels, oil tankers, fishing boats, and recreational craft all risk seizure by pirates and having their crews held for ransom. The increase in incidents off the coast of Somalia has even prompted some foreign governments to send warships to the area as a preventive measure. Due to the high numbers of attacks and concerns that their vessels could be targeted, OSAC constituents have sought to enhance their security through such measures as traveling in convoys, hiring private security vendors, carrying non-lethal defensive weapons, using passive defense measures, and maintaining good communications at all times. Piracy and armed robbery at sea were also a problem in the Gulf of Guinea, where pirates attacking U.S. and other vessels along Nigeria’s coast and off the shores of Cameroon, Benin and Equatorial Guinea, became bolder - operating more regularly and farther offshore than in years past. For example, assailants operating in the coastal waters of Nigeria attacked one vessel 75 miles off shore, compared to the 10 to 15 miles at which similar attacks occurred the previous year.

AFRICA: al-Qa’ida in the Land of the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) in West and North Africa

al-Qa’ida in the Land of the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) continued to commit deadly attacks in Algeria and expanded its operations in the region. AQIM demonstrated increased ambition and capability during the past year, launching a series of attacks across multiple borders and using kidnapping and a range of other illicit activities to finance its activities. August in particular was a violent month for AQIM in Algeria; nearly 60 people were killed in a series of vehicle-borne improvised explosive device (VBIED) attacks. The group typically targeted military and police forces, government buildings, and transportation sites, but also exploited individual targets of opportunity. The group targeted Western interests, including the shuttle bus of a Canadian engineering firm in August 2008, Austrian tourists in Tunisia, and the Israeli Embassy in Mauritania. Significantly, a Mauritanian citizen was linked to one of the attacks, indicating that the group had attracted regional support for its actions. AQIM’s activities in 2008 raised U.S. private-sector concern that AQIM not only remains an undiminished threat, but also that it will continue to attempt large-scale, mass casualty attacks targeting their interests.

With continued economic growth in Colombia, the U.S. private sector remained interested in the security and political stability of the country. In 2008, many industries inquired about Colombia's overall security situation and the country's largest domestic terrorist group, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, also know as the FARC. While the Colombian government has achieved major successes against the FARC in recent years, the U.S. private sector remained concerned about possible retaliation by the group. In 2008 alone, private industry has been victimized by bombings, kidnappings and extortion committed by members of the FARC and smaller criminal organizations claiming to be a part of the rebel group.

Throughout 2008, organized criminal violence in Mexico hit an all-time high, as the Government of Mexico confronted trafficking organizations and corrupt officials working with them. There were more than 5,300 cartel-related homicides in the first 11 months of the year — a 117% increase over 2007, according to the Mexican Attorney General. The U.S. private sector continued to express concern about operating in such an insecure environment, especially along the U.S.-Mexican border, where trafficking organizations have engaged in violent confrontations with Mexican law enforcement agencies. From shootouts in public areas to a grenade attack at a national holiday event, the chance of being in the wrong place at the wrong time increased markedly, particularly in major trafficking areas, including near the U.S.-Mexico border.

Resource shortages continued to plague countries throughout East Asia and the Pacific. With their expanding economies and burgeoning populations, many countries in Asia faced difficulty in providing energy supplies sufficient to meet growing demand. Rolling blackouts in Karachi resulted in civil unrest and a decrease in productivity for businesses operating there. In China, where a high volume of U.S. companies have operations, intermittent blackouts presented challenges to operational continuity. In India, diversion of water resources to industrial use led to civil unrest and direct action against the private sector. "In Indonesia, which in previous years has experienced serious disorder due to price hikes, protests took place in 2008 over price increases for fuel, soybeans and other products."

The terrorist threat emanating from the Afghanistan-Pakistan border region, including Pakistan’s Northwest Frontier provinces and the Federally Administered Tribal Area, remained a top security concern for Asia and the rest of the world. Extremist groups such as the Pakistani Taliban, the Afghan Taliban, and al-Qa’ida continued to take advantage of the lack of government control of the area to recruit, plan, organize, and conduct terrorist attacks on both sides of the Pakistani-Afghan border. Groups in the area routinely conspired to kidnap and assassinate workers from nongovernmental organizations, including the assassination of a USAID contractor in November. These extremists also have conducted suicide attacks on Western interests in the area, such as the September 2008 vehicle bomb at the Marriott Hotel in Islamabad and the January 2008 assault on the Serena Hotel in Kabul.

Europe remained under threat from both transnational and indigenous terrorist groups. While the region has not seen a large-scale terrorist attack since the 2005 London transit bombings, the threat of such an attack remained a top security concern. Underscoring the concern over the potential for future terrorist attacks, governments in several countries, including the United Kingdom and The Netherlands, continued to operate at heightened threat levels. According to several al-Qa’ida messages disseminated via the Internet and other media, attacks in and against Western nations remained a top objective of al-Qa’ida and other global Islamic radical organizations inspired by the group. Additionally, based on investigations into disrupted plots in Europe over the past few years, experts assess that Islamic terrorists continue to strive for attacks on the continent which will cause indiscriminate mass casualties. To reduce this threat, counterterrorism efforts of the European nations have aggressively targeted terrorist elements over the past few years and conducted numerous arrests and prosecutions of operatives at all levels of terror networks. Additionally, many private sector security managers in Europe remained concerned about the danger of complacency among staff, and continued to urge vigilance and awareness of the current security environment.

A series of political and business scandals over the past year raised concerns among OSAC constituents that corruption in many European countries is on the rise. Contributing factors in certain countries include: a declining economy fueling crime rates, pervasive influence of organized criminal groups on markets and governments, and limited rule-of-law. In Eastern European countries such as Russia, Ukraine, Bulgaria and Romania, OSAC constituents expressed particular concern over corruption and increased difficulty maintaining compliance with the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act due to greater insistence on bribes for contracts and permits. Problems were particularly evident in Russia, with on-going concerns about “corporate raiding,” the takeover of businesses by dubious means, including misuse of government agencies by government and non-government actors, and those connected with criminal organizations.

MIDDLE EAST: al-Qa’ida in Yemen and al-Qa’ida in Saudi Arabia: Activities and Cooperation

U.S. interests saw bold attacks in Yemen this year, including the multiple vehicle-borne improvised explosive attacks against the U.S. Embassy Sana’a on September 17, 2008. OSAC's constituents expressed concern about future attacks in Yemen and the potential for instability in Yemen to adversely impact Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia’s security forces have in the last few years effectively countered the local terrorist threat of al-Qa’ida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), which has led some remaining AQAP fighters to relocate to more permissive operating environments. AQAP statements have encouraged Saudi fighters to travel to Yemen to train with al-Qa’ida in Yemen (AQY) fighters and launch future cross-border attacks against Saudi Arabia. AQAP previously targeted American firms and personnel in Saudi Arabia, and therefore any increased capability of its fighters is a concern to OSAC constituents.

The Overseas Security Advisory Council was established in 1985 as a Federal Advisory Committee with a U.S. Government Charter to promote security cooperation between the U.S. Department of State and American business and private sector interests worldwide.

With a constituency of more than 3,500 U.S. companies and other private-sector organizations with overseas interests, OSAC operates a Web site (www.osac.gov), which offers its members the latest in safety- and security-related information, public announcements, warden messages, travel advisories, significant anniversary dates, terrorist group profiles, country crime and safety reports, special topic reports, foreign press reports, and much more.

The OSAC staff includes international security research specialists dedicated solely to serving the U.S. private sector. Additionally, OSAC has a network of 100 country councils around the world that brings together U.S. embassies and consulates with the local U.S. community to share security information.

OSAC is co-chaired by the Director of the Diplomatic Security Service (DSS) and a selected representative of the private sector. The OSAC Executive Director is a Diplomatic Security Special Agent.

The Bureau of Diplomatic Security is the U.S. Department of State’s law enforcement and security arm. The special agents, engineers, and security professionals of the Bureau are responsible for the security of 285 U.S. diplomatic facilities around the world.

In the United States, Diplomatic Security personnel investigate passport and visa fraud, conduct personnel security investigations, and protect the Secretary of State and high-ranking foreign dignitaries and officials visiting the United States. More information about the U.S. Department of State and the Bureau of Diplomatic Security may be obtained at www.state.gov/m/ds.

A very small sampler of what I have looked at ON THE INTERNET recently:

LONG WAR JOURNAL.org - blog: "SHABAAB TAKES CONTROL OF SOMALIA'S SEAT OF GOVERNMENT" by Bill Roggio (SNIPPET: "Al Qaeda's affiliate in Somalia took control of the last stronghold of Somalia's troubled Transitional Federal Government today, just hours after Ethiopian troops withdrew.") (January 26, 2009, 7:28 pm) (Read More...)

THE JAWA REPORT - blog: "Four AMERICANS Arrested in Somaliland" (SNIPPET: "UPDATE: Make that 15. Eleven more Americans arrested in Somaliland.") (January 26, 2009) (Read More...)

Link - Post no. 7 (Read More...)

JIHAD WATCH.org (NEWS.com.au): "HAMAS VOWS TO CONTINUE ARMING MILITANTS" (January 26, 2009) (Read More...)

JIHAD WATCH.org (TIMES OF INDIA, January 24, 2009): "WOMAN LIVING IN 'HAMAS STRONGHOLD' MARRIES TO RAISE 'MARTYRS'" (SNIPPET: "The latest form of jihad: Jihad al-Ziwaj, or 'Marriage Jihad'"... SNIPPET: "There were no regrets either -- she said she was marrying to raise 'fighters' and asked only that she might die as a 'martyr' in Israel.") (January 25, 2009) (Read More...)

JIHAD WATCH.org (INTERNATIONAL HERALD TRIBUNE): "HAMAS: 'Marriage is the same as jihad'" (October 31, 2009) (Read More...)

AMERICAN THINKER.com - blog: "SOCIAL NETWORKING ARAB HATRED OF ISRAEL" -Rick Moran (SNIPPET: "This month, hundreds of Egyptian Facebook members, in private homes and at Internet cafes, have set up Gaza-related "groups." Most expressed hatred for Israel and the United States, but each one had its own focus.") (January 25, 2009) (Read More...)

JIHAD WATCH.org (REUTERS, January 22, 2009): "TOP SAUDI THREATENS U.S. OVER ISRAEL" (January 24, 2009) (Read More...)

Link (Read More...)

MEMRI.org - Special Dispatch - No. 2211: "Video Message from Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula Commanders -- Among Them Former Guantanamo Detainees" (SNIPPET: "... called for attacks on Western interests...") (January 26, 2009) (Read More...)

LONG WAR JOURNAL.org - blog: "RETURN TO JIHAD" by Thomas Joscelyn (SNIPPET: ""By Allah, imprisonment only increased our persistence in our principles for which we went out, did jihad for, and were imprisoned for," al Shihri says.") (January 25, 2009, 10:30 am) (Read More...)

ZEE NEWS.com - India Edition: Washington - "RELEASED GUANTANAMO DETAINEE NEW YEMEN AL QAEDA COMMANDER" (SNIPPET: "...Said Ali al-Shihri, who was jailed at Guantanamo for six years after his capture in Pakistan, has resurfaced as a leader of a Yemeni branch of al-Qaeda." SNIPPET: "That announcement, which carried the video post of al-Shihri, also included a second video of a second militant who identified himself as Abu al-Hareth Muhammad al-Oufi and claimed he had also been a Guantanamo captive, later released.") (January 24, 2009) (Read More...)

AFP via Google: Sanaa - "YEMEN SAYS 94 GUANTANAMO INMATES HOME WITHIN THREE MONTHS" (January 23, 2009) (Note: The content on this url may change as it is updated.) (Read More...)

JIHAD WATCH.org (NEW YORK TIMES): "FORMER GITMO DETAINEE NOW AMONG TOP DOGS IN AL-QAEDA IN YEMEN" (January 23, 2009) (Read More...)

JIHAD WATCH.org (REUTERS): "PENTAGON: 61 EX-GITMO INMATES HAVE RETURNED TO JIHAD" (January 13, 2009) (Read More...)

UPI.com: Mooresville, N.C. - "KUWAIT ORDER NUCLEAR EMERGENCY PILLS" (Published January 23, 2009, 11:32 am) (Read More...)

ThyroShield.com: "What Your Family Needs to Know" (Read More...)

FBI.gov - Press Release: "POSSIBLE SIGHTING OF FBI FUGITIVE IN BRITISH COLUMBIA" (January 23, 2009) (Read More...)

FBI.gov: "OPERATION BACKFIRE Help Find Four Eco-Terrorists" (November 19, 2008) (Read More...)

THE MEMRI BLOG.org ("Source: Al-Mustaqbal, Leban on January 23, 2009"): "GRAFFITI PRAISING HIZBULLAH ON WALLS OF CHRISTIAN SCHOOL IN LEBANON" (January 23, 2009) (Read More...)

JIHAD WATCH.org: "THREATS MADE AGAINST CHABAD HEADQUARTERS IN NEW YORK" (January 23, 2009) (Read More...)

Link (Read More...)

JIHAD WATCH.org (VOSIZNEIS.com, January 22, 2009): "UK: MUSLIMS WALKING INTO JEWISH-OWNED SHOPS AND SAYING, "I'm going to kill you"" (January 23, 2009) (Read More...)

TOWNHALL.com: "CLEAR AND PRESENT DANGER" by Oliver North (SNIPPET: "Item No. 1 ought to be preventing the world's No. 1 exporter of radical Islamic terror from obtaining nuclear weapons: Iran. Unfortunately, the new administration is not off to an auspicious start.") (January 23, 2009) (Read More...)

THE MEMRI BLOG.org ("Source: Shahab News, Iran, January 19, 2009"): "IRANIAN MAJLIS DISCUSSES BILL TO ESTABLISH 'ISLAMIC WORLD ARMY'" (SNIPPET: "It was proposed that this army would be part of the Organization of the Islamic Conference.") (Posted January 22, 2009) (Read More...)

Link (Read More...)

TRUTHUSA.com: A Look at Iran (Read More...)

SPECTATOR.co.uk: "The Terrible Warning of a Holocaust Survivor" by Douglas Davis (January 21, 2009) (Read More...)

COUNTERTERRORISM BLOG.org: "WORTH READING: A REPORT ON DRUG TRAFFICKING THAT IS TERRIFYING AND INCOMPLETE" by Douglas Farah (January 21, 2009) (Read More...)

CNS NEWS.com: "MEXICAN DRUG TRAFFICKERS INCREASING OPERATIONS IN D.C. AREA, SAYS INTEL ASSESSMENT" by Ryan Byrnes (January 23, 2009) (Read More...)

CNS NEWS.com: "MEXICAN DRUG TRAFFICKERS NOW 'GREATEST ORGANIZED CRIME THREAT' TO U.S." by Ryan Byrnes (January 22, 2009) (Read More...)

US DOJ.gov/NDIC: "NATIONAL DRUG THREAT ASSESSMENT 2009 Publication Date: December 2008 Document ID-2008-Q0317-005" (Read More...)

Knoxville.FBI.gov - Press Release: "SUSPICIOUS WHITE POWDER LETTERS POSTMARKED FROM KNOXVILLE RECEIVED IN NEW YORK AND MASSACHUSETTS" (SNIPPET: "An additional letter was also received today at Harvard Law School addressed to Alan Dershowitz. This letter was also postmarked Knoxville, Tennessee.") (January 21, 2009) (Read More...)

THE MEMRI BLOG.org ("Source: Fars, Iran, January 20, 2009"): "PALESTINIAN AMBASSADOR IN TEHRAN: 'We Should Reinvigorate Jihad and Martyrdom,'" (Posted January 21, 2009) (Read More...)

COUNTERTERRORISM BLOG.org: "NEFA FOUNDATION REPORT - "The Union of Good: A Global Muslim Brotherhood Hamas Fundraising Network" by Evan Kohlmann (January 20, 2009) (Read More...)

THE MEMRI BLOG.org: "U.S. TREASURY DEPARTMENT DESIGNATES HAMAS FUNDING ORGANIZATION, INCLUDING FUNDRAISER IN MEMRI TV CLIP" (Posted November 21, 2008) (Read More...)

MEMRI TV.org - VIDEO CLIP (Watch Here.)

TREAS.gov - THE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY - HP-1267 - Press Release: Washington, D.C. - "TREASURY DESIGNATES THE UNION OF GOOD" (November 12, 2008) (Read More...)

CHICAGO JOURNAL.org: $20,000 REWARD OFFERED FOR ARRESTS IN VANDALISM OF SYNAGOGUES, SCHOOLS Jewish organizations seek leads to hate crimes in West Ridge, Lake View" by Lorrain Swanson (SNIPPET: "Benn asked that anyone with information about the attacks call the Anti-Defamation League at 312-782-5080. Rottner said the Belmont and Western Area 3 hate crimes unit can take calls at 312-744-8320.") (January 19, 2009, 7:43 pm) (Read More...)

STRAITS TIMES.com: Berlin - "AL-QAEDA VIDEO CREATOR NAMED" (SNIPPET: "... was identified on Monday by the interior ministry here as Morocco-born Bekkay Harrach." SNIPPET: "...August Hanning said on Monday that Harrach - who called himself Abu Talha Al-Alamani - was 'a very serious Islamist'.") (January 20, 2009) (Read More...)

JIHAD WATCH.org (AP): "PURPORTED AL-QAEDA JIHADIST THREATENS GERMANY: "It has been my wish to blow myself up for Allah since 1993."" (January 19, 2009) (Read More...)

THE JAWA REPORT - blog: "VIDEO SHOWING GERMAN AL QAEDA EMERGES" (January 17, 2009) (Read More...)

FRONTPAGE MAGAZINE.com: "SUICIDE BOMBINGS AND ISLAM" by Jamie Glazov (January 19, 2009) (Read More...)

Link (Read More...)

LONG WAR JOURNAL.org - blog: "PAKISTANI TALIBAN: 'Suicide bombers are the atomic weapons of Muslims'" by Bill Roggio (January 19, 2009, 12:02 am) (Read More...)

LATIMES.com - Reporting from Minneapolis: "YOUNG MEN VANISH INTO SOMALIA, STIRRING FEARS OF TERRORIST RECRUITMENT" by Bob Drogin (January 18, 2009) (Read More...)

FreeRepublic.com - Discussion Forum (WASHINGTON TIMES): "SOMALIS IN U.S. DRAW FBI ATTENTION" by Sara A. Carter (December 29, 2008) (Read More...)

FreeRepublic.com - Discussion Forum (PAJAMAS MEDIA via FRONTPAGE MAGAZINE.com): "SOMALIS LEAVING U.S. FOR JIHAD" by Patrick Poole (December 12, 2008) (Read More...)

JIHAD WATCH.org (TIMES OF INDIA): "PAKISTAN'S ISI TRAINING WOMEN IN THE ARTS OF JIHAD AND TERRORISM" (January 18, 2009) (Read More...)

YNET NEWS.com: "IRANIAN CLERIC CALLS FOR SHOOTING LIVNI" (Published January 17, 2009, 13:18) (Read More...)

THE MEMRI BLOG.org ("Source: IRNA, ISNA, Iran, January 16, 2009"): "Ayatollah Jannati in Friday Sermon: Saudi Arabia - 'U.S. Puppet,' Egypt -- 'Ally of Israel'; Someone Should Shoot Tsipi Livni" (Posted January 16, 2009) (Read More...)

TRUTHUSA.com: A Look at Iran (Read More...)

MEMRI.org - Special Dispatch No. 2193: "Egyptian Clerics Encourage Martyrdom in Gaza: 'We Must Love Death'; 'There Are Black-Eyed Virgins Ready For You'; 'We Must Teach Our Children to... Hate the Jews'" (January 16, 2009) (Read More...)

FRONTPAGE MAGAZINE.com: "THE RULE OF THE GREEN CZAR" by Kathy Shaidle (January 16, 2009) (Read More...)

FRONTPAGE MAGAZINE.com: "OBAMA'S ENVIRONMENTAL AGENDA: MADE IN CHINA" by William R. Hawkins (January 16, 2009) (Read More...)

INVESTIGATIVE PROJECT.org - IPT News: "ISNA's MATTSON TO SPEAK AT INAUGURAL PRAYER SERVICE IPT Report Documents Her Troubling History" (January 20, 2009) (Read More...)

AMERICAN THINKER.com - blog: "THE NATIONAL PRAYER SERVICE AND THE WAHHABI LOBBY" by Winfield Myers (January 17, 2009) (Read More...)

JIHAD WATCH.org (AP): "HEAD OF MUSLIM GROUP WITH ADMITTED HAMAS TIES TO OFFER PRAYER AT OBAMA INAUGURATION" (January 15, 2009) (Read More...)

ONE NEWS NOW.com: "EQUIPPING CHURCHES FOR DANGER, VIOLENT ATTACKS" by Allie Martin (SNIPPET: "A faith-based security expert says many churches and ministries are not prepared to respond to emergencies.") (January 15, 2009, 4:40 am) (Read More...)

FOX NEWS.com: "MILITARY REPORT: MEXICO, PAKISTAN AT RISK OF 'RAPID AND SUDDEN COLLAPSE'" (January 14, 2009) (Read More...)

Link (pdf) (Read More...)

CANADA EAST.com (THE CANADIAN PRESS): Ottawa - "MORE GUANTANAMO INMATES MAY LOOK TO CANADA" by Jim Brown (SNIPPET: "Omar Khadr isn't the only Guantanamo inmate who could look northward if the incoming Obama administration carries through on its promise to shut the military prison. Three other men who once lived in Canada are being held at the U.S. naval base in Cuba and could be candidates to return to this country if they're released.") (January 14, 2009) (Read More...)

THE JAWA REPORT: "AN AMERICAN JIHADI IN SOMALIA AND HIS WASHINGTON FRIENDS IN AL QAEDA" (SNIPPET: "But perhaps the most important piece of the story is an admission that Shumpert turned to the Salafi strand of Islam after he met with some Muslims in Washington who had recently returned from fighting the jihad in Chechnya..." SNIPPET: "So, who are Ruben Shumpert's friends who had been to Chechnya and are they still on the loose in Washington?") (January 13, 2009) (Read More...)

COUNTERTERRORISM BLOG.org: "NEFA FOUNDATION: SOMALI MILITANTS ISSUE BIOGRAPHY OF AMERICAN JIHADIST" by Evan Kohlmann (January 13, 2009) (Read More...)

SECRET SERVICE.gov - Press Release: "NO EVIDENCE OF THREATS TO INAUGURATION, REPORTS SECRET SERVICE" by Nicholas Ballasy (SNIPPET: ""As Secretary Chertoff has stated, we have no credible intelligence to suggest that there is a threat to any of the inaugural events," said Sullivan. "Nevertheless, given its historic nature, its importance to our democratic process and the large number of people expected to attend, collectively we have endeavored to make this inauguration as safe and secure as possible."") (January 13, 2009) (Read More...)

COUNTERTERRORISM BLOG.org: "FEDS CITE RACIST CHATTER FOR 'HIGHER STATE OF ALERT' IN INAUGURATION" by James Gordon Meek (SNIPPET: ""Everybody in law enforcement dealing with that particular (white supremacist) 'clientele' is on a higher state of alert," a senior agent at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives told The News. The ATF has expertise infiltrating white supremacist groups. A classified threat assessment for the Inauguration by the FBI and Homeland Security Department citing agitated hate groups was sent to police agencies this week. Counterterrorism officials have also picked up chatter from Islamic militants, but the agitated domestic hate groups are "the big concern," said another FBI official") (January 13, 2009) (Read More...)

COUNTERTERRORISM BLOG.org: "NEFA FOUNDATION: NEW BIN LADEN AUDIO - 'A Call for Jihad to Stop the Gaza Assault'" by Evan Kohlmann (January 15, 2009) (Read More...)

MEMRI.org - Special Dispatch - No. 2189: "OSAMA BIN LADEN IN AUDIO MESSAGE TO PALESTINIANS: The Way to Reclaim Palestine Is Through Jihad" (January 14, 2009) (Read More...)

YNET NEWS.com (REUTERS): "OSAMA BIN LADEN CALLS FOR JIHAD OVER GAZA" (SNIPPET: "The tape was dated in the current Islamic month.") (Published January 14, 2009, 12:52) (Read More...)

REWARDS FOR JUSTICE.net: "WANTED USAMA BIN LADEN Up to $25 Million Reward" (Read More...)

INVESTIGATIVE PROJECT.org - IPT News: "U.S.-BASED IMAM URGES MUSLIMS TO JOIN THE GAZA BATTLEFIELD" (January 12, 2009) (Read More...)

THE TIMES OF INDIA: "In US, LeT cheif's kin raised funds for jihad" -Indrani Bagchi, TNN (January 12, 2009, 0123 hrs IST) (Read More...)

JIHAD WATCH.org (PEOPLE.co.uk): "JIHADISTS THREATEN TO BEHEAD MADONNA OVER GAZA" (January 11, 2009) (Read More...)

JIHAD WATCH.org: "AFGHAN JIHADIST TO OBAMA: "You should also cause one more addition to the U.S. history by becoming the first president to accept the Truth and by adopting the true faith of Islam"" (January 10, 2009) (Read More...)

TOORABORA.com: "By the name of Allah the most gracious and most merciful An Open Letter from the Peaks of Tora Bora to the White House The president of United States Barak Husain Obama!" (December 27, 2008)

LION HEART UK - blog: "GLEN JENVEY & BRITISH REPORTERS THREATENED WITH BEHEADING" (January 9, 2009) (Read More...)

Travel.State.Gov - TRAVEL ALERT: "INDIA" (January 9, 2009) (Read More...)

THE MEMRI BLOG.org ("Source: Alarabiya.net, January 9, 2009"): "MOROCCAN CLERICS ENCOURAGING 'ELECTRONIC JIHAD'" (Posted January 9, 2009) (Read More...)

Travel.State.Gov - TRAVEL WARNING: "BURUNDI" (January 8, 2009) (Read More...)

LONG WAR JOURNAL.org - blog (THE WEEKLY STANDARD): "TERRORIST PENPALS" by Thomas Joscelyn (January 9, 2009) (Read More...)

CIA.gov - Press Release: "DIRECTORS STATEMENT: Transition at CIA Statement to Employees by Director of the Central Intelligence Agency Mike Hayden" (SNIPPET: "President-elect Obama has chosen Leon Panetta to succeed me here at the Agency.") (Last Reviewed: Jan 09, 2009 11:51 AM) (Read More...)

FRONTPAGE MAGAZINE.com (NEW YORK POST): "INTELLIGENCE FAILURE" by Ralph Peters (ARTICLE SNIPPET: "WOULD you ask your accountant to perform brain surgery on your child? That's the closest analogy I can find to the choice of Democratic Party hack Leon Panetta to head the CIA.") (January 8, 2009) (Read More...)

HOT AIR.com - blog: "WHAT THE PANETTA APPOINTMENT MEANS" by Ed Morrissey (January 6, 2009, 10:57 am) (Read More...)

YNET NEWS.com (REUTERS): "BUSH AIDE: MUMBAI-LIKE ATTACK COULD HAPPEN IN U.S." (SNIPPET: "Ken Wainstein told a Washington think tank that the Mumbai attacks in November showed the effectiveness of a low-technology coordinated assault on an open city.") (Published January 8, 2009, 04:01) (Read More...)

WHITEHOUSE.gov - News Release: "REMARKS BY NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISOR STEPHEN HADLEY at the Center for Strategic and International Studies CSIS Washington, D.C." (SNIPPET: "America is a nation at war. And in the post-9/11 world, we face complex challenges that will not pause for a change in administrations.") (January 7, 2009) (Read More...)

OSAC.gov - Rpeport: "PRIVATE SECTOR SAYS TERRORISM, MARITIME PIRACY, CORRUPTION AMONG GRWOING THREATS" (January 7, 2009) (Read More...)

Travel.State.Gov.: "WORLDWIDE CAUTION" (July 16, 2009) (Read More...)

Travel.State.Gov - U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE Bureau of Consular Affairs - TRAVEL ALERT: "ISRAEL, THE WEST BANK AND GAZA" (January 6, 2009) (Read More...)

JIHAD WATCH.org (AP): "AL-SADR: "I call upon the honest Iraqi resistance to carry out revenge operations against the great accomplice of the Zionist enemy"" (January 7, 2009) (Read More...)

THE MEMRI BLOG.org: "Al-Quds Al-Arabi': Al-Qaradhawi Calls For Jan. 9 "Day of Rage and Support"; Yemeni Preacher Calls On Arab Regimes to Let Volunteers Wage Jihad Against Israel" (Posted January 7, 2009)

COUNTERTERRORISM BLOG.org: "NEFA FOUNDATION: Zawahiri Issues Orders to "Strike Everywhere" in Revenge for Gaza" by Evan Kohlmann (January 9, 2009) (Read More...)

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FOX NEWS.com (AP): Cairo, Egypt - "AL QAEDA No. 2 BLAMES OBAMA, EGYPT'S PRESIDENT FOR GAZA" (January 6, 2009) (Read More...)

REWARDS FOR JUSTICE.net - Seeking Information Against International Terrorism: "WANTED AYMAN AL-ZAWAHIRI Up to $25 Million Reward"

JIHAD WATCH.org (IRNA, January 5, 2009): "IRAN BOASTS: 70,000 STUDENTS HAVE SIGNED UP TO KILL THEMSELVES IN MASS-MURDER OPERATIONS" (January 6, 2009) (Read More...)

THE MEMRI BLOG.org ("Source: Fars (Iran), January 1, 2009"): "IRANIAN MARTYRDOM MOVEMENT MARCHES IN TEHRAN" (Posted January 1, 2009) (Read More...)

JIHAD WATCH.org (AP): "IRAN: 'Volunteer student suicide groups ... are determined to go to Gaza"" (December 31, 2008) (Read More...)

MEMRI.org - Special Dispatch - No. 2169: "Khamenei Decrees: Israel is Kafer-e-Harbi; Iranian Martyrdom Seekers Await Khameini's Orders; Iranian Student Organizations Threaten to Take Over Egyptian, Jordanian Diplomatic Representations" (December 31, 2008) (Read More...)

THE AGE.com.au: "CIA TRACKING 4000 UK TERROR SUSPECTS" by Tim Shipman, Washington (SNIPPET: "THE CIA has begun an unprecedented intelligence-gathering operation in Britain to help MI5 monitor 4000 terrorist suspects. More than four out of 10 CIA operations to prevent attacks on US soil are now conducted against targets in Britain.") (January 5, 2009) (Read More...)

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TELEGRAPH.co.uk: "TERRORISTS COULD USE 'INSECT-BASED' BIOLOGICAL WEAPON" by John Adams (SNIPPET: "Terrorists would find it "relatively easy" to launch a devastating attack using swarms of insects to spread a deadly disease, an academic has warned.") (Last updated January 5, 2009, 2:43 pm GMT) (Read More...)

JIHAD WATCH.org (TIME ONLINE.co.uk): "HAMAS: We'll kill Jewish children anywhere" (January 5, 2009) (Read More...)

YNET NEWS.com (AP): "HAMAS THREATENS ATTACKS ON ISRAELI CIVILIANS" (Published January 5, 2009, 12:46) (Read More...)

YNET NEWS.com: "POLICE COMMISSIONER ORDERS HIGH ALERT IN ALL OF ISRAEL" (Published January 4, 2009, 12:11) (Read More...)

THE MEMRI BLOG.org ("Source: Fars, Iran, January 4, 2009"): "ONE MILLION DOLLAR REWARD FOR THE HEAD OF EGYPTIAN PRESIDENT MUBARAK" (Posted January 4, 2009) (Read More...)

NEWSWEEK.com: "ISRAEL'S WORST FEARS It's U.S. ambassador says the big threat is that Iran has almost enough fuel for its first nuclear weapon" (Published January 3, 2009; Magazine Issue dated January 12, 2009) (Read More...)

TRUTHUSA.com: A Look at Iran (Read More...)

THE JAWA REPORT - blog: "U.S. HOSTED HAMAS CHILDREN'S WEBSITE: "I have to kill the Israeli occupation and break the siege of Gaza"" (Posted January 3, 2009, 6:26 PM) (Read More...)

THE MEMRI BLOG.org ("Source: ikhwanonline.com, Al-Quds Al-Arabi, London, January 2, 2009"): "MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD GENERAL GUIDE: THE TIME HAS COME FOR JIHAD TO THE MAXIMUM DEGREE" (Posted January 2, 2009) (Read More...)

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ISRAEL NATIONAL NEWS.com: "HAMAS, AL-QAEDA THREATEN JEWISH TARGETS ABROAD" by Nissan Ratzlav-Katz (Published January 2, 2009, 12:51 pm) (Read More...)

YNET NEWS.com: "GLOBAL TERROR ATTACKS FEARED DUE TO GAZA OP" by Daniel Edelson (Published January 2, 2009, 02:21) (Read More...)

META SECURITY.net - Security of Virtual Worlds: "GLOBALLY NETWORKED ANARCHISM (#GRIOT)" by Roderick Jones (December 31, 2008) (Read More...)

PAJAMAS MEDIA.com - blog: "TOP AMERICAN ISLAMIC CLERIC THREATENS U.S. ON EGYPTIAN TV Living in America while inciting violence against America" by Patrick Poole (January 7, 2009) (Read More...)

MEMRI.org - Special Dispatch - No. 2165: "As Gaza Fighting Continues, Egyptian Clerics Intensify Antisemitic Statements; Columbus, Ohio Muslim Scholar/Leader Dr. Salah Sultan: Muhammad Said That Judgment Day Will Not Come Until Muslims Fight the Jews and Kill Them; America Will Suffer Destruction" (December 30, 2008) (Read More...)

WASHINGTON TIMES.com: "SOMALIS IN U.S. DRAW FBI ATTENTION War at home seen as lure" by Sara A. Carter (ARTICLE SNIPPET: "Many members of the Somali community are concerned over disappearances, he said.") (December 29, 2008) (Read More...)

THREATS WATCH.org - blog: "THE 'Z' IS NOT FOR ZORRO" by Jay Fraser (December 30, 2008) (Read More...)

JIHAD WATCH.org (EL PASO TIMES, December 28, 2008): "SUSPECTED AL-QAEDA OPERATIVE AT EL PASO DETENTION FACILITY AWAITING DEPORTATION AFTER PRISON TERM" (December 29, 2008) (Read More...)

FreeRepublic.com - Discussion Forum (YNET NEWS.com): "REPORT: ISRAELI AIR FORCE ATTACKS GAZA CITY" (December 27, 2008) (Read More) (NOTE: UPDATES ONGOING.)

YNET NEWS.com (AP): "INTEL REPORT: HIZBULLAH MAY STRIKE IN US" (SNIPPET: "Homeland Security Threat Assessment for the years 2008-2013 says Hizbullah may foment terror attack in US if there is some kind of 'triggering' event. 'The threat of terrorism and the threat of extremist ideologies have not abated," Chertoff says.") (Published December 25, 2008, 23:52) (Read More...)

WHITEHOUSE.gov: "Briefing Room" (Read More...)

WHITEHOUSE.gov: "Agenda" (Read More...)

WHITEHOUSE.gov: "Executive Orders" (Read More...)

WHITEHOUSE.gov: "Proclamations" (Read More...)

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