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Threat Matrix: 2010
Freerepublic.com ^ | 12/31/2009 | Freeper TMers

Posted on 12/31/2009 10:06:46 AM PST by Velveeta

:::FreeRepublic's Threat Matrix:::
Critical Threats: Blank When None
Al Qaeda’s Yemen Connection, America and the Global Islamic Jihad

December 30, 2009 — The attempt to destroy Northwest Airlines flight 253 en route from Amsterdam to Detroit on Christmas Day underscores the growing ambition of al Qaeda's Yemen franchise, which has grown from a largely Yemeni agenda to become a player in the global Islamic jihad in the last year. Since merging with the al Qaeda franchise in Saudi Arabia last January and renaming itself Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), it has stepped up operations in Yemen itself, struck into Saudi Arabia, and now operates on the global stage. The weak Yemeni government of President Ali Abdallah Salih, which has never fully controlled the country and now faces a host of growing problems, will need significant American support to defeat AQAP.

Al Qaeda has long been active in Yemen, the original homeland of Osama bin Laden's family, and one of its first major terror attacks was conducted in Aden in 2000, when an al Qaeda cell nearly sank the USS Cole. A year ago, the al Qaeda franchises in Saudi Arabia and Yemen merged after the Saudi branch had been effectively repressed by the Saudi authorities under the leadership of Deputy Interior Minister Prince Muhammad bin Nayif. The new AQAP showed its claws last August, when it almost assassinated the prince with a suicide bomber who had passed through at least two airports on the way to his attempt on Nayif.

(snip)

The attack on the Amsterdam-Detroit flight also shows that al Qaeda remains obsessed with striking the American airline industry, a target it has gone after repeatedly since 1999. If AQAP has now been told by the al Qaeda core leadership to take on the job, we can probably assume that other al Qaeda franchises in North Africa, Iraq, Southeast Asia and elsewhere have also been pressed to attack.

The Brookings Institution



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TOPICS: Front Page News; News/Current Events; War on Terror
KEYWORDS: cranswick; lacklancranswick; terror; terrorism; threatmatrix; tm; wot
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To: JustPiper

Piper....uk Islamic March to protest uk involvement in Afghanistan over on.... news/activism


381 posted on 01/02/2010 10:46:20 PM PST by caww
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To: MestaMachine

The numbers come from regular government reports over the years, open-source news, DoD unclassified briefs, international documents etc. The Afghanistan opium numbers come from an annual survey (they are still quite high but they have dropped):

http://www.unodc.org/documents/crop-monitoring/Afghanistan/Afghanistan_opium_survey_2009_summary.pdf

It is hard to quantify how many insurgents have become part of ANA or ANP. It is likely there are some.

In Iraq I think lately we’ve seen a lot of indiscriminate attacks partially targeting the government and partially targetting the masses of people who might be gathering. There are a few recent attacks which may be problematic if the trends were to continue, those reminsicent of the death squads of 06/07 and those orchestrated by AQI/Baathist elements being the main ones. The very recent string of attacks targeting Shiites was likely largely due to Ashura... same general reason for the renewed clashes in Iran that will continue to prove a major challenge to the powers that be going forward.


382 posted on 01/02/2010 10:46:54 PM PST by nwctwx
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To: nwctwx; caww

Thank you for your response. These numbers still do not jive with reality. Seems as if they are meant to instill a false sense of stability and positive momentum that does not compute with the actual backsliding going on.
The DoD is desperately seeking to put forth positives so this administration can adhere to its timetable which, in my opinion, is more CYA than anything. islam will have its way and they know it.
Iran’s involvement cannot be underestimated and yet there is nothing in this report about it whatsoever.
You are aware, I am sure, that the US Government has now begun negotiating with terrorists and released back into the streets a well known Iranian proxy responsible for the murders of five American soldiers in Karbala in exchange for a Brit reporter
This is unprecedented and the impact is not lost on anti-American, anti-Shia, and pro-wahab Sunni extremist factions who have been laying low waiting for the US to pull out.
That Iran has brazenly coopted an Iraqi oil field with NO response is also a very bad omen for the entire area. Add to that the new negotiating stance of Saudi Arabia VS Iran, and you have a storm of umimaginable proportions blowing there.
This has always been between Saudi Arabia and Iran vying for power in the region. One of the Saudis’ main goals has been met by eliminating the influence of Abdullah of Jordan in the area which was accomplished with OUR help.
Contrary to “public” reports, the UN has not got a clue and are far less than forthcoming with anything resembling the truth. Trusting either the UN OR the government to give you the truth is a mistake.
Nothing is going to stand in the way of the power struggle for control of the Caliphate they are trying to establish and both factions are exerting their will in many areas of the world.
Enough for tonight.
This is a complicated world. We cannot afford to be lulled by reports that smell like roses when the truth is more like rotting fish.


383 posted on 01/03/2010 12:41:37 AM PST by MestaMachine (Your CORE is the path you walk. RINOs don't walk paths, they build roads to nowhere..)
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To: MestaMachine; Candor7; All
ALERT!!!

SAN'A, Yemen (AP) US Embassy in Yemen says it has closed due to threats from al-Qaida.

384 posted on 01/03/2010 1:24:30 AM PST by JustPiper (Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. ~ML King)
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To: caww

Tehe, her’s a HE


385 posted on 01/03/2010 1:26:12 AM PST by JustPiper (Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. ~ML King)
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To: MestaMachine

Yes...it’s indeed a mess...but I do believe the gov. wants to present the positive side which is why we see those stats. Not that I believe the gov. But I have no problem believing Iraqy people “enjoy democracy”..for what they understand of it. And the improvements to their country. Who wouldn’t with all considered.

We know there will never be complete peace there, their tribal fighting is not going to go away. Nor Iran and Syria’s working together to zoom into Iraq at a later time. And now there’s Yemen and Pakistan war fronts... I feel there will always be others there.

.but I am convinced were we not over there these countries would be blowing each other up, not to mention Israel. They all want the oil and the power that comes from it. So the Mid-east is never going to rest from being a hot spot. The mindset of the people is not wired for peace as we know it. There politics is their religion and will not function seperately so Islam will continue to be a threat to us all.

The most we can expect is to keep the lid on the pot from boiling over too far..too stop what we can. My fear is that this will only be for a time at best...

I’d like to think after the next election we’ll close our borders...I dream we would become isolated from that part of the world. I would be more than glad to be a poor country that’s free than one under any world governance. we can build our nation again and take care of ourselves.

Unfortunately too many in leadership positions, on both side, of the aisle are globalists and are so entrenched with those who are carrying the agenda we see Bo and this current admin. doing now, that I have serious doubts much can be done to stop it. There’s just not enough on our side and have enough power to turn this tide...unless the man on the street rises up.

The Muslims will continue to infiltrate the Us just as they have Eu, Spain, France etc..and we will see more of the problems as they have because our government will not stop them. So, with this in mind the question is how do we prepare and how do we prepare our children.....Questions abound in my mind.

I know well your frustration with info not being reported rightly...and the onslaught of information to discern...the only way I can see to handle it all is to keep an eye on the larger picture. Bo is not going to care if we think he’s a liar or not...the agenda is fixed and all he has to do is push it thru and ride out the next three years. I doubt he want to run again.

Well, hopefully Ian may have a few words to add which might make better sense of things....but no matter .. it will still look bad. You and I and others know it.

Too long..sorry..cw


386 posted on 01/03/2010 1:28:39 AM PST by caww
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To: MestaMachine

I have to tell you, your profile page is beyond impressive! If anyone got an award for their FR Profile, you have it hands down MM!


387 posted on 01/03/2010 1:35:32 AM PST by JustPiper (Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. ~ML King)
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To: caww

TY!


388 posted on 01/03/2010 1:38:09 AM PST by JustPiper (Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. ~ML King)
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To: JustPiper

No.. thank YOU for clarifying the HeShe Dah...

Am hitting the sack now..it’s almost 5:oo am...tomorrow last day off before back to the drawing board. Holiday feast with my family will wrap it up nicely.

See you next at post time.....


389 posted on 01/03/2010 1:54:23 AM PST by caww
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If this anonymous piece is accurate, maybe he was just practicing damage control when he notified the authorities about his son's "extremism" -- as Creeping Sharia puts it, daddy "threw his son under the bus to protect himself and his own Islamist interests." But it looks as if Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab is a chip off the old block.

Flight 253 jihadist's father "leader of Sharia movement in Nigeria"

The only people fool enough to fall for this are all working in the State Department and the Pentagon.

Flight 253 jihadist wasn't cured by Saudi anti-jihad art therapy

~Snickers

Shocker: Muslim who tried to kill Motoonist has "links to Islamic terrorists"

390 posted on 01/03/2010 2:17:24 AM PST by JustPiper (Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. ~ML King)
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To: caww
Heard a great explanation on FNC:

Radical Islam is an idealogy , NOT a religion

Translation:

Back off blaming the U.S. Jack

391 posted on 01/03/2010 2:20:00 AM PST by JustPiper (Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. ~ML King)
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To: MestaMachine

Danish media say the man who attacked an artist who depicted the Prophet Muhammad in a cartoon has previously been arrested in Kenya.

The Politiken newspaper reported Sunday that Danish intelligence knew the 28-year-old Somali man was held in Kenya in September for allegedly plotting an attack against U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

Citing unnamed sources, the newspaper said he was later released due to lack of evidence.

But Denmark’s ambassador to Kenya, Bo Jensen, told the news agency Ritzau the man was arrested in Kenya for incomplete travel documents. He said Kenyan authorities never told the embassy he was suspected in any terror plot.

http://ow.ly/16g26q


392 posted on 01/03/2010 5:54:49 AM PST by WestCoastGal
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The United States and Britain announced Sunday they have closed their embassies in Yemen because of security concerns.

A U.S. news release cited ongoing threats by al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula to attack American interests in Yemen.

The U.S. announcement, which was made on the embassy's Web site, did not say when the embassy would reopen.

The British Foreign Office said it would make a decision whether to reopen on Monday.

On December 31, the U.S. embassy alerted Americans in Yemen to stay on alert for possible terrorist violence.

Both moves follow a Christmas Day bombing attempt aboard a Northwest flight bound for Detroit, Michigan, from Amsterdam, Netherlands. On Saturday, President Obama linked the bombing suspect to an al Qaeda affiliate based in Yemen.

http://bit.ly/7HKGbw

393 posted on 01/03/2010 5:58:11 AM PST by WestCoastGal
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To: WestCoastGal
Would Barrack Hussein Obama be upset if radical Muslims attcked the servicemen and women who protect this great country?

Nah!

We must not prejudge. Back to my cave.

394 posted on 01/03/2010 6:04:05 AM PST by gathersnomoss (General George Patton had it right.)
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To: WestCoastGal

Not One but TWO return to Logan

New York, January 3 — Two Delta flights from Boston returned to Logan International Airport after pilots smelled smoke in the cockpits.

A Delta flight headed for New York and another bound for Columbus, Ohio returned after reporting smoking smells.

Planes return shortly after takeoff
The New York bound plane took off from the airport at about 10:45 a.m., carrying five crew members and 29 passengers.

Eight minutes from takeoff, a pilot smelled smoke and soon decided to turn back Delta Flight 1379, Delta spokesman Carlos Santos confirmed.

As soon as the plane returned to the airport, the odor reportedly went away.

Later in the afternoon, another plane, Delta Connection Flight 6001, with four crew members and 34 passengers returned to the airport.

The plane took off at 3:59 p.m. and returned to the airport at 4:18 p.m.

Incident upsets schedule
Though it is not clear what caused the odor, the airline authorities are investigating the cause of smoke smell.

******

Logan may want to check their personnel...

395 posted on 01/03/2010 6:04:06 AM PST by WestCoastGal
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To: WestCoastGal

BOTH Delta???????


396 posted on 01/03/2010 6:04:44 AM PST by WestCoastGal
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To: WestCoastGal
Flights delayed after system malfunction

AIR passengers across Australia have endured delays because a computerised check-in system malfunctioned this morning, a Qantas spokesman says.

The Amadeus check-in system, used across the globe, was paralysed by a server problem which meant airlines were forced to check in passengers manually.

Qantas domestic flights were delayed by up to an hour, while three international Qantas flights were also delayed.

Other airlines using the system are understood to have been affected similarly.

snip

http://bit.ly/7JNp8o

397 posted on 01/03/2010 6:08:55 AM PST by WestCoastGal
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Here is a look back of the TSA incidents and United States Air disaster recap for 2009:

* January 2- Air Tran Flight 175 January 1, 2009 held nine passengers “for a security related issue onboard the aircraft involving verbal comments made by a passenger and overheard by other passengers”. All nine passengers were later cleared of any wrongdoing according to an Air Tran press release.

* January 15- US Airways flight 1549—“taking off from La Guardia Airport on Thursday afternoon. The pilot ditched in the icy Hudson River and all on board were rescued by a flotilla of converging ferries and emergency boats, the authorities said” according to a report by the New York times. All 155 onboard were safe.

* February 12- A “commuter plane crashed while attempting to land in rain and sleet, 6 miles northeast of Buffalo Niagara International Airport, were it was scheduled to land” according to planecrashinfo.com. All 49 onboard were killed.

* March- Man caught with Cocaine at John Wayne Airport and arrested.

* April 12- Pittsburgh International Airport a man was apprehended when it was discovered he had stolen airport property.

* April 16- Pittsburgh International Airport multiple IDs in the man’s wallet, along with numerous credit cards, some having different names

* April 17- Tampa International Airport Hundreds of pills were found in a passenger’s carry-on bag

* May 8- Newark Liberty (N.J.) International Airport a man checked in 9 bags and two of the bags contained replica improvised explosive devices, accompanied by inert blasting caps.

* August 10- ExpressJet Incident- a flight was delayed on the tarmac due to bad weather for “9 1/2 hours — 7 hours on the ground”— 47 passengers spent the night trapped inside a small plane due to poor airline customer service and lack of appropriate response measures.

* December 25- Northwest Airlines Flight 253 from Amsterdam to Detroit a Nigerian man set off a device and was subdued by passengers and crew.

* December 27- Northwest Flight 253 Incident. A Nigerian man spent an unusual amount of time in the bathroom and was subsequently removed from the plane. It was later determined, according to the TSA, he appeared to have a legitimate illness.http://bit.ly/8qmd2s

398 posted on 01/03/2010 6:15:05 AM PST by WestCoastGal
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To: gathersnomoss

I would be guessing he would pretend to be upset - he does a lousy job of it as we’ve seen already.


399 posted on 01/03/2010 6:18:50 AM PST by WestCoastGal
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To: WestCoastGal
BERLIN — A jet headed for Spain's Canary Islands came off the runway at Dortmund airport in western Germany on Sunday, but no one was injured, authorities said.

The pilot of the Air Berlin Boeing 737-800, with 165 passengers and six crew members on board, had decided to abort the takeoff because of a “technical irregularity” that is still being examined, airline spokeswoman Diane Daedelow said.

The aircraft braked but came off the runway in wintry conditions. It came to rest with its nose pointing down a slight snow-covered slope.

The plane was undamaged and passengers were able to leave the aircraft normally using steps, Daedelow said.

SNIP

The plane is the second Boeing 737-800 to skid off the runway in recent weeks

http://bit.ly/8jQaP0

400 posted on 01/03/2010 6:22:18 AM PST by WestCoastGal
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