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Locked on 03/30/2011 7:22:45 AM PDT by Sidebar Moderator, reason:
New thread: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2696934/posts |
Posted on 05/02/2010 4:49:06 PM PDT by MestaMachine
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Four days after the failed car bombing attack in New York City's Times Square, senior officials in the Obama administration have grudgingly begun to accept that the Pakistani Taliban are likely involved in the plot.
Obama administration officials said today that there "strong indications" Faisal Shahzad, the Pakistani-born naturalized American citizen "knew some members" of the Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan, The New York Times reported.
"Somebody’s financially sponsoring him, and that’s the link we’re pursuing," an administration official told The New York Times, noting that Shahzad received money from Dubai to purchase the Nissan Pathfinder used in the failed attack and his one-way airline ticket to Pakistan following the attack. "And that would take you on the logic train back to Pak-Taliban authorizations."
The administration's admission that Shahzad and the attempted bombing link back to Pakistan marks a departure from its early view that the attack was likely a purely domestic incident. One day after the attack, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano described the attack as a "one-off" and "amateurish,” and over the next two days administration officials continued to downplay or deny possible links to international terror groups, despite early clues suggesting such involvement.
New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg was more direct and put the blame on domestic terrorists. "If I had to guess 25 cents, this would be exactly that, somebody who’s homegrown, maybe a mentally deranged person or someone with a political agenda that doesn’t like the health care bill or something, it could be anything,” Bloomberg told CBS New.
Evidence of link to the Pakistani Taliban was available in the first 24 hours
But evidence that the Pakistani Taliban may have played a role in the attack emerged almost immediately after firefighters and police dismantled the crudely-made bomb in Times Square on the evening of May 1. On the morning of May 2, a person who claimed to be from the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan News Channel notified The Long War Journal that an audiotape of Taliban commander Qari Hussain Mehsud was posted on a YouTube site. The email was titled "Qari Hussain Mehsud from Tehreek e Taliban Pakistan accepts the responsibility of recent Attack on Times Square Newyork USA.”
(snip)
US authorities clearly were aware of the Qari Hussain video, and had the video pulled from YouTube within hours after the The Long War Journal received the email notification of its existence.
On the evening of May 2, the Taliban spokesman sent The Long War Journal another email that pointed to the location of an audio tape and a video tape of Hakeemullah Mehsud, the top commander of the Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan.
The email was titled "Hakeemullah Mehsud is Alive and Healthy and Delivering news about Attacks on USA." The audio and video tapes were produced in April. On the tapes, Hakeemullah denied the multiple reports of his death and threatened the US with further attacks.
"The time is very near when our fedayeen will attack the American states in their major cities," Hakeemullah said. "And Inshallah (god willing) we will give extremely painful blows to the fanatic America."
The videos were difficult to dismiss, as the timing of the release of the tapes is significant. Ordinarily, the Taliban and al Qaeda have a long lead time, often one to two weeks, from the recording to the release of their tapes.
But more importantly, the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan News Channel website that the Qari Hussain tape was released on was created on April 30, just one day prior to the attack. The Qari Hussain tape was also uploaded on April 30. US intelligence officials contacted by The Long War Journal on May 2 said they believed that the website was created explicitly for the purpose of claiming credit for the Times Square attack.
Other pieces of evidence also emerged within the first few days that directly linked Shahzad to Pakistan and the Taliban. The night that Shahzad was arrested, US intelligence contacted by The Long War Journal said they believed he had spent time in al Qaeda or Taliban training camps in North Waziristan.
(snip)
The reasons for the administration's decision to quickly discount a foreign connection remain unclear, but the end result was that partisans feuded over phantom domestic terrorists while the Taliban accepted responsibility.
Pakistan gets $656M from U.S. as terror link probed
Pakistan received $656 million in security funds from the United States as authorities probed links between the country and the confessed Times Square bomber.
According to Dawn newspaper, the U.S. embassy in Islamabad transferred $188 million to Pakistan's central bank last week and the remaining $468 million on Monday. The coalition-support funds compensate Pakistan for counterterrorim and counterinsurgency operations.
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Dems defend Obama's handling of terror suspect in attempted car bombing
Democrats launched a defense of the Obama administration's handling of an attempted terror attack amid some Republican criticism.
Sens. Jack Reed (D-R.I.) and Ted Kaufman (D-Del.) praised law enforcement officials and first responders who helped foil an attempted car bombing Saturday in Times Square in New York.
"His national security team is working 24/7 to plug the gaps, and indeed, there have been a number of foiled attacks in the last year," Reed, a leading Democrat on national security issues, said Wednesday.
The pair defended Obama after Republicans complained that the suspect detained in the case, Faisal Shahzad, had been read his Miranda Right, affording him the same rights as other criminal defendants.
Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), the ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, called Mirandizing Shahzad a "serious mistake."
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Reaction low key to “Los Suns”
PHOENIX (AP)—Suns fans wore “Los Suns” jerseys and T-shirts and a group of four even entered the arena with sombreros for their team’s playoff game against the San Antonio Spurs.
There was a lone protester holding up a homemade sign outside the arena who was against the idea of the “Los Suns” jerseys Phoenix wore Wednesday night for Game 2 of its second-round series.
Otherwise, it was a typical game night around US Airways Center.
The Suns made headlines the day before with their decision to wear “Los Suns” jerseys on the Cinco de Mayo holiday. A new Arizona immigration law has drawn widespread criticism from Latino organizations and civil rights groups that say it could lead to racial profiling of Hispanics. President Barack Obama has called the law “misguided.”
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What a slap in the face to the people of Arizina. This has NO place in National sports.
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And finally:
Stunning Pictures of Al Gore's New $9 Million Mansion Media Totally Ignored
Nobel Laureate Al Gore purchased a $9 million mansion in the luxurious hills of Montecito, California, recently.
snip
consider what the Nobel Laureate told Congress last year as the House was deliberating cap-and-trade legislation:
AL GORE: Every penny that I have made, I have put right into a non-profit deal, Alliance For Climate Protection, to spread awareness of why we have to take on this challenge. And Congresswomen, if your, if, if you believe that the reason I have been working on this issue for 30 years is because of greed, you do not know me.
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Sure, Al.
“According to Dawn newspaper, the U.S. embassy in Islamabad transferred $188 million to Pakistan’s central bank last week and the remaining $468 million on Monday. The coalition-support funds compensate Pakistan for counterterrorim and counterinsurgency operations”
Does this sound funny to you?
If I didn’t know better, it sounds like a down payment for a contract hit before and full payment after the deed is done.
Here you go:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2507760/posts
Joe Lieberman introducing bill to strip suspected terrorists’ citizenship
The Washington Post / washingtonpost.com ^ | May 5, 2010; 11:16 AM ET | By Rachel Weiner
Posted on Thursday, May 06, 2010 2:28:19 AM by thecodont
interesting timing...just coincidental
or, incentive to “hurry up and arrest those responsible for the Time Square bombing”?
May 5, 2010
KARACHI: Pakistan’s central bank said on Wednesday it had received $468 million from the United States in compensation for some of its costs in battling militancy.
The US embassy in Islamabad said on Tuesday it had released $656 million to Pakistan from its so-called coalition support fund (CSF) for some costs incurred last year, with $188 million transferred last week and another $468 million on Monday.
“We received $468 million last night,” said Syed Wasimuddin, chief spokesman for the State Bank of Pakistan.
The bank said on Tuesday it had received the first $188 million last Friday.
The CSF is a US programme to reimburse allies that have incurred costs in supporting counter-terrorist and counter-insurgency operations.
Pakistan’s role in the battle against militants has been highlighted in recent days with the arrest in the United States of a Pakistani-American in connection with a botched car bomb in New York’s Times Square.
The US funds come at an important time for cash-strapped Pakistan which is in negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for the release of a fifth tranche of an $11.3 billion loan.
The IMF board is expected to meet in mid-May to consider the fifth tranche of the loan, worth about $1.15 billion. The IMF has been pressing Pakistan to increase electricity tariffs and implement a value-added tax.
The central bank said the $188 million will be reflected in foreign exchange data to be released on Thursday, covering the week that ended on April 30. The remaining $468 million will be reflected in data to be released next week.
Foreign exchange reserves eased to $14.98 billion in the week that ended on April 23.
Foreign reserves hit a record high of $16.5 billion in October 2007 but fell steadily to $6.6 billion by November 2008, largely because of a soaring import bill.
“The CSF is a US programme to reimburse allies that have incurred costs in supporting counter-terrorist and counter-insurgency operations.”
“Reimburse” -— Does the US get an itemized breakdown of those specific expenses? I’d like to see it.
US mounts pressure on Pakistan over NY plot
By Anwar Iqbal
Thursday, 06 May, 2010
WASHINGTON: In a series of meetings with and telephone calls to President Asif Ali Zardari and other Pakistani leaders, senior US officials have informed Islamabad that the failed attempt to bomb New York’s Times Square had ‘clear links’ with Pakistan, the US State Department said on Wednesday.
“The purpose of the meetings was to inform Pakistan that there are clear links to Pakistan and that we would fully expect them to do what they should do and what they have been doing,” Assistant Secretary of State Philip J. Crowley told a briefing in Washington.
(snip)
Mr Crowley, who looks after public affairs at the State Department, said that US Ambassador Anne Patterson had meetings with President Zardari and Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi in Islamabad on Wednesday. She also spoke with Interior Minister Rahman Malik.
US special envoy Richard Holbrooke also had a conversation with Foreign Minister Qureshi on Wednesday morning.
The State Department said that Ambassador Patterson would continue to have meetings with senior Pakistani officials in the coming days to work collectively on this investigation.
Asked if the US administration was pleased with the outcome of these meetings, Mr Crowley said: “I think it’s more a matter of what we do from this point forward.”
(snip)
Mr Crowley said that the attempt to bomb Times Square had “international implications” and the United States expected Pakistan to help explore those implications.
Asked why was he confident that Pakistan would fulfil its pledge to cooperate with the United States in investigating the bombing attempt, the State Department official said: “Rest assured that Pakistan understands that this investigation is important to the United States, it is important to Pakistan, based on very strong political commitments, we are confident that we can work through those issues together.”
The National Ummah: The movement is led by Jamil al-Amin, (H. Rap Brown)
Is a radical Islamic movement spreading throughout America?
Several months ago, I did a long biographical post of him (with timeline) at the post below, but searching internally on FR, I can’t find much on the growing reach of his National Ummah movement. This article would make a good thread of its own to bring to attention of Freepers.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2278969/posts?page=419
Pakistan takes our money, and throws us a bone once in a while.
New York (CNN) -- Faisal Shahzad made a practice run in Manhattan the day before he allegedly tried to blow up a car bomb in Times Square, according to a law enforcement source with knowledge of his questioning.
Last Friday, Shahzad drove his white Isuzu from Connecticut through Times Square, where he staked out potential locations for the following night's planned attack, the source said. He then parked the Isuzu several blocks away from Times Square, though the precise location was unclear, and took a train back to Connecticut, the source said.
On Saturday night, with his recently acquired Nissan Pathfinder loaded with his makeshift explosives, Shahzad drove southbound along Manhattan's East River on FDR Drive to the 49th Street exit, the source said.
Shahzad then pulled over and reached into the Pathfinder's rear compartment where he attempted to set into motion the process needed to set off the homemade bomb, the source said.
The source, who did not explain how Shahzad had attempted to set off the bomb, said he then took a number of turns and wound up entering Times Square by driving south down Seventh Avenue. The source said Shahzad told investigators he turned right onto 45th Street toward Eighth Avenue because he saw a place to pull over.
It's unclear why Shahzad left the Pathfinder's engine running and hazard lights blinking.
But because of an incredible goof, Shahzad couldn't use his escape car. He had accidentally left the keys to that vehicle in the Pathfinder that he thought was about to blow up, the source said.
He apparently went to a train station, where he boarded a Metro North train back to Connecticut.
Another law enforcement source said investigators found a train receipt used by Shahzad that is stamped about 7 p.m., a half hour after a witness notified authorities that the car in Times Square was filing with smoke.
Sources say investigators believe he ran to catch the train that pulled out around 7 or 7:15 Saturday night.
Russian special forces storm oil tanker, free ship
The force commander for the EU Naval Force tells The Associated Press that Russian special forces stormed a disabled oil tanker and arrested the Somali pirates aboard.
Rear Adm. Jan Thornqvist says Thursday's dawn raid took place against the Liberian-flagged ship Moscow University, which had been boarded by pirates early Wednesday.
The special forces had been aboard a Russian warship that rushed to the scene after the attack. The special forces boarded a helicopter and rappelled down to the Moscow University, which is carrying 86,000 tons of crude oil worth roughly $50 million.
Thornqvist says shots were fired during the raid but that no one was injured and the crew is safe. The pirates were arrested.
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Think maybe the pirates would take a hint?
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http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2507778/posts
Pakistan Taliban may be linked to New York car bomb suspect: US officials (Retraction?)
The Times of India ^ | 6 May 2010 | MARK MAZZETTI AND SCOTT SHANE
Posted on Thursday, May 06, 2010 5:08:57 AM by James C. Bennett
WASHINGTON: American officials said that it was very likely that a radical group once thought unable to attack the United States had played a role in the bombing attempt in Times Square, elevating concerns about whether other militant groups could deliver at least a glancing blow on American soil.
Officials said that after two days of intense questioning of the bombing suspect, Faisal Shahzad, evidence was mounting that the Pakistani Taliban, had helped inspire and train Shahzad in the months before he is alleged to have parked an explosives-filled sport utility vehicle in a busy Manhattan intersection on Saturday night. Officials said Shahzad had discussed his contacts with the group, and investigators had accumulated other evidence that they would not disclose.
Who’s worried about sea level rise? Gore buys $8.8 million ocean-view villa
http://www.latimes.com/features/home/la-hm-hotprop-gore-20100428,0,4103538.story
[Wants to watch polar bears down?]
Alleged bin Laden associate arrested in Iraq
The alleged leader of a militant group responsible for global "jihadist recruitment" was arrested in Baghdad on Monday, the U.S. military said.
Iraqi security forces seized Abu Abdullah Al Shafi'l, the emir of Ansar Al Islam, and "seven criminal associates" during raids in the Baghdad neighborhoods of Mansour and Adhamiya, the military said in a statement issued on Monday.
Ansar Al Islam "is allegedly responsible for funding and terrorist operations in Europe and the United Kingdom" and the distribution of "extremist propaganda.
" Al Shafi'l is believed to have served the group since its inception and is believed to be behind attacks against Iraqi civilians, Kurdish police, and Iraqi and coalition forces.
Al Shafi'l also is believed to have had an association with Osama Bin Laden and apparently modeled himself after the al Qaeda leader.
The military believes the capture of the militant leader should significantly degrade the country's Ansar Al Islam network, which authorities say "has long been a direct threat" to Iraq's unification.
A Kurdish counter-terrorism organization supported by U.S. advisers helped Iraqi security forces search residential buildings in the raids.
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Wonder how many special Forces will get nailed for this one.
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Mullah Krekar
Ansar al Islam, (Supporters or Partisans of Islam,) is a Kurdish Sunni Islamist group promoting a radical interpretation of Islam close to the official Saudi ideology of Wahhabism with strict application of Sharia.
The group was formed in the Kurdish-controlled northern provinces of Iraq near the Iranian border, with bases initially in and near the villages of Biyara and Tawela, northeast of Halabja.
Ansar al-Islam was formed in September 2001 as a merger of Jund al-Islam (Soldiers of Islam), led by Abu Abdallah al-Shafi'i, and a splinter group from the Islamic Movement of Kurdistan led by Mullah Krekar. Krekar became the leader of the merged Ansar al-Islam, which opposed an agreement made between IMK and the dominant Kurdish group in the area, Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK).
Villagers under their control were subjected to harsh sharia laws; musical instruments were destroyed and singing forbidden. The only school for girls in the area was destroyed, and all pictures of women removed from merchandise labels. Sufi shrines were desecrated and members of the Kaka'i (a religious group also known as Ahl-e Haqq) were forced to convert to Islam or flee. Former prisoners of the group also claim that Ansar al-Islam routinely uses torture and severe beatings when interrogating prisoners. Beheading of prisoners has also been reported.
Ansar al-Islam initially comprised approximately 300 men, many of these veterans from the Soviet-Afghan War, and a proportion being neither Kurd nor Arab. During its stay in the Biyara region the group would have needed logistical support from Iran, prompting allegations of support from "powerful factions in Iran."
US Special Activities Division (SAD) Paramilitary teams entered Iraq before the 2003 invasion of Iraq. SAD teams then combined with US Army Special Forces and the PUK Peshmerga to defeat Ansar al-Islam. This battle was for territory along the Iranian border that was controlled by Ansar al-Islam, and was executed prior to the invasion in February 2003. The US side was carried out by Paramilitary Officers from SAD and the Army's 10th Special Forces Group. It resulted in the deaths of a substantial number of militants and the uncovering of a chemical weapons facility at Sargat. Sargat was the only facility of its type discovered in the Iraq.
Ansar al-Islam detonated a suicide car bomb on March 22, 2003, killing Australian journalist Paul Moran and several others. The group is also thought to have been responsible for a September 9, 2003 attempted bombing of a United States Department of Defense office in Arbil, which killed three people.
On February 1, 2004 suicide bombings hit parallel EID-celebrations arranged by the two main Kurdish parties, PUK and Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iraq (KDP), in the Kurdish capital of Arbil, killing 109 and wounding more than 200 partygoers. Responsibility for this attack was claimed by the then unknown group Ansar al-Sunnah, and stated to be in support of "our brothers in Ansar al-Islam."
While many former activists in Ansar al-islam have joined the Ansar al-Sunnah and similar goups, Kurdish authorities claim the organization is still active in Iraqi Kurdistan. In September 2006, 11 alleged members of Ansar al-Islam were hanged in Arbil.
Ansar al-Islam has an extensive network in Europe organizing finance and support for armed attacks within Iraq. Several members of such groups have been arrested in European countries such as Germany and Sweden.
In December 2007 the Ansar al-Sunnah formally acknowledged being derived from the Ansar al-Islam, and reverted their name to the original.
In November 2008 an archbishop in Mosul received a threat signed by the "ansar al-islam brigades", warning all Christians to leave Iraq or else be killed.
On May 4, 2010 Abu Abdullah al-Shafi'i, Ansar al-Islam's leader since Mullah Krekar left for Norway in 2003, was captured by US forces in Baghdad.
(Mullah Krekar is fighting deportataion in Norway right now.)
SHELTON -- Faisal Shahzad's Pakistani passport, tax documents, greeting cards, academic records and immigration documents were found abandoned outside a Shelton home once owned by the man charged in the attempted Times Square car bombing.
The documents, mainly from 2000 and 2001, were found Tuesday morning by a Connecticut Post reporter outside the house at 119 Long Hill Ave. where Shahzad lived until about a year ago. The house is vacant and up for sale.
Police earlier had searched the property, according to neighbors.
Same source as post above:
The copy of his Pakistani passport shows a picture of a serious-looking young man dressed in a suit and tie. It lists his occupation as a student and his religion as Muslim. The document expired in February 2000. A copy of one entry shows a stamp allowing entry into the United Kingdom good until June 4, 1996 and is stamped Karachi, Pakistan.
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Tax returns show he earned a modest income — his 2000 income, the year he earned his degree from UB, was $5,458. His 2001 return, when he was living on Linden Avenue in Bridgeport, lists his occupation as an account analyst, from which he earned a gross income of $22,650 with a refund of $1,135, which was directly deposited into his checking account at People’s Bank.
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The Connecticut Post made the documents available to the FBI. By early afternoon, police and federal investigators were back at the Shelton home. The pile of papers in the backyard was much smaller than it was that morning.
The Kenyan con-man is immune...
Perfect!!
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