US AUTHORITIES CLOSE AIR SPACE FOR G8 SUMMIT
WASHINGTON, June 7 (RIA Novosti)-The US Federal Aviation Administration had informed RIA Novosti that the air space within a 65km radius of the forthcoming G8 summit was closed last night (at about 4 a.m. Moscow time).
The G8 summit will be held on June 8-10 on Sea Island in Georgia.
The air space will remain closed until midday Friday, June 11.
The toughest restrictions will be in place within a 16km radius over Sea Island, where the international leaders will convene for their meetings.
The US authorities have only given flying permission for Pentagon planes and helicopters, as well as those flown by law-enforcement agencies assisting the US Secret Service, which is in charge of summit security.
During the G8 session, journalists have been banned from using helicopters to take aerial footage, while hot air balloons, parachutists and other enthusiasts have also been prohibited from entering the zone.
A similar ban will imposed from the morning of June 8 over the international press center in Savanna. Only regular commercial passenger flights will be allowed to fly in and out of local airports provided they have the relevant permission.
Please note the date of these two reports:
From: ERRI DAILY INTELLIGENCE REPORT-ERRI Risk Assessment Services Friday, August 29, 1997 Vol. 3 - 241
ISLAMIC TERRORIST GROUPS OPERATING
IN THE UNITED STATES
By Steve Macko, ERRI Risk Analyst
Very few people realize it, but at this very moment, militant Islamic groups that have been officially described as international terrorist organizations -- such as Hezbollah, HAMAS, Palestine Islamic Jihad and others -- are operating very quietly within the borders of the United States, from New York City to San Diego. What these terrorist groups do is acquire money in the U.S. to send back to their parent organizations overseas. They also use their U.S. addresses in order to purchase U.S. equipment, use U.S. internet sites to communicate and U.S. universities to meet and plan.
John O'Neill, the man who formally headed the FBI's counterterrorism unit until 1996 and who now heads those efforts in New York City, said, "Almost every one of these groups has a presence in the United States today. A lot of these groups now have the capability and the support infrastructure in the United States to attack us here if they choose to do so."
By many Islamic militants, the United States is seen as the "Great Satan." And the U.S. has now become a key part of their terrorist network. In the Middle East, you have some bitter rivalries such as Sunni vs. Shi'ite. Or Iranians vs. Arabs. These type of individuals have now eased into America's famed "melting pot."
This issue is a difficult one for law enforcement. Almost all of the estimated 6 million Muslims in the United States are law-abiding citizens. But how do you use some investigative tactics without infringing upon the rights of innocent people?
Here is a nightmare scenario that keeps some risk analysts awake at night:
A Hezbollah terrorist attaches a lightbulb to the rail track of a New York City subway. Within minutes, a train passes and smashes the light- bulb. The deadly toxin anthrax is then released into the subway system carried away by ventilation fans and causes the death of 100,000 people or more.
Peter Probst, a analyst at the Pentagon, said, "The death toll would be horrific. You could cripple the country." Probst wrote a similar scenario in his classified report entitled: "Terror 2000." He added about the anthrax scenario, "And you can't bury the victims. You have to burn them. There would be funeral pyres throughout the city."
A 1996 U.S. Senate report said that a terrorist attack with anthrax or sarin gas or a World Trade Center-type bomb that was "dirtied" with nuclear material is almost inevitable. Most experts say that sooner or later, it's going to happen.
U.S. Secretary of Defense William Cohen said about the same thing at a terrorism conference in April. He said: "This scenario of a nuclear, biological or chemical weapon in the hands of a terrorist cell or rogue nation is not only plausible, it's really quite real."
The U.S. has already seen such efforts toward these kinds of terrorist attacks. The group of men involved in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing that killed six people and injured more than 1,000 included militants from Palestine, Sudan, Egypt and even U.S. citizens converted to the radical Islamic fundamentalism craziness.
That same group convicted of the World Trade Center bombing also planned to bomb other New York City landmarks. The mysterious Ramzi Yousef who is currently on trial for his part in the World Trade Center case, has already been convicted of conspiring to bomb a dozen U.S. airliners in a single day.
U.S. authorities worry about what are called "sleeper cells" of terrorists who await orders from the crazy mullahs in Iran or zealots who have been influenced by jailed Egyptian "cleric" Sheik Omar Abdel-Rahman. Who was given a life sentence for his part in the World Trade Center bombing. Rahman still has his followers even though he is behind bars in a federal prison.
It is known that U.S.-based HAMAS militants have been involved in surveillance operations against prominent Jewish people in the Chicago area. What could their intentions only be?
Central Intelligence Agency Director George Tenet says that such terrorists "are expanding their networks, improving their skills and sophistication and working to stage more spectacular attacks."
Currently, the U.S. Customs Service is said to be investigating a network of U.S.-based Islamic foundations who may be funding Middle East terrorists. One of the foundations under investigation is in Florida. The Customs Service is reportedly searching for evidence in stacks of Arabic documents, encrypted computer files and bank records that have been seized. The foundation is believed to using the cover of a Mideast think tank that was, at one time, affiliated with the University of South Florida.
Counterterrorism analysts say that what is different about Islamic extremists is the radical crazies who consider the United States to be the "Great Satan." An enemy to Islam that must be punished. And they are quite fanatical about it.
World renown terrorism expert Brian Jenkins of Kroll Associates said, "The fact they are using the United States as a launching pad, a depot and a bank is not new. What is different is the fact it is done so with an open hostility toward the U.S. government and U.S. society."
*Exclusive Report*
Egyptian Moslem Brotherhood in Las Vegas ???
By Paul Copher, ERRI Counterterrorism Analyst-At-Large
While presenting a CT/AT training course to some state investigators here in the SW, I stopped in Las Vegas with a few former military agents that I worked with in the Middle East. A taxi driver picked us up and we noticed his Middle Eastern name. At first he was very closed mouth about such questions as the spread of Islam in Nevada but after hearing that we were familiar with the various conflicts of the region and Islam he began to open up. By the end of the ride we had made plans to meet the local Imam. The mosque was situated in a housing project and bore no outside indications of its usage.
Upon entering we were politely searched for weapons or recording devices then led into a front room. The first thing that I noted was a map of Nellis AFB with certain areas marked such as the motor pool, gas/fuel storage, and weapons/ammo dump. A large photo of Sheik Rahman was displayed as was the Ayatollah Khomeni's poster size likeness. After a few minutes of over hearing Arabic remarks in the next room, our best Arabic speaker/agent called out we were not "on the job" and were not being properly treated as "guests".
Tea was brought out and a young Shiia stereotype (several days beard, sweater under a sport coat in summer, buttoned up collar with no tie) sat down. As we ate goat cheese and pita bread with olives and cucumbers, the man produced a gold leaf bound copy of the Koran and asked what we wanted. We said that all of us were formerly in the ME and two of our group had extensive duty in Egypt,Iran, and Lebanon. A few more men joined this odd scene with more food and a bottle of wine. The wine trick was familiar to us and we all turned our glasses upside down refusing the wine in this alleged semi mosque or Koranic school. In fact, our Egyptian born ex USAF Capt criticized the men for offering us an alcoholic drink in such surroundings. Apparently we passed the test by accepting only tea and snacks (with the correct hand).
The individuals said that all were Egyptians with a few Palestinian born members thrown in and were in this country seeking political asylum, although none had met with a INS board and were employed as limo and taxi drivers. While being polite, the men still believed us to be "secret police" for some US agency. The far interior of the room was divided by a nice tribal rug. Behind this was a small area for prayers and many martyr photos of suicide bombers and Egyptian/Lebanese clerics. I noted HAMAS and HEZBULLAH logos on the photos. This was verified by the self appointed religious leader/teacher that the others called Imam and another much older man called Sidi Massoud-probably an older family member or the real group leader. This man was called phonetically, by the group, "Zabagna" which was translated to mean a watchman or guard. It was he who called us by a very quaint, out of use, Ottoman Turkish term of "noble foreigners".
The men, now numbering 7 (the seating was set up for a norm of 14 for prayers) began asking us if we had any new news from Rahman and what we currently knew of the purges of pro-Islamic military members in the various ME nations. I commented on the Turkish purge which seemed to satisfy them that we were students of ME politics. Our opinions were of interest to them as if they were taking a poll. I was asked about the medallion I wore (and take on every airplane trip) which was an inscribed gift from the PFLP-GC after my unit had tried to stop the Lebanese militia forces from entering the PLO refugee camps in Beirut. On these trips I also carry a Koran just in case even though I am in the US. Although the Moslem Brotherhood is not too friendly with the PLO itself, they did seem to accept the more rejectionist PFLP-GC as some remote relation to them.
The group said that they were studying the American way of life and found it repulsive in Las Vegas due to the life style. They also commented on the remarks about Moslems that their fares made when working their taxi jobs. I said many Americans think all Moslems are hostile but there are good and bad in both countries. I also said that US students should study geography and other cultures more than they currently do. The Imam replied that this was true of the Middle Eastern students as well.
As I became familiar with the photos and posters I noted a heavy cardboard stock poster of the design of an RPG 7 and AK 47. A map of Las Vegas was also marked just like the map of Nellis AFB. One man saw me looking and told me that they were studying the lay out of the city and areas for their taxi/limo jobs. Numerous photos of the men and their families (?) were displayed showing that a few were in camo uniforms carrying weapons. I pointed out a Rumanian AKM with its distinctive fore grip in one photo and this seemed to impress the group. Another photo was of a group of men at the Lake Powell region of Northern AZ with the large dam behind them. I was told that this reminded them of Lake Nasser and they take tours of the site often on their free days.
After about 1 1/2 hour we all got up, retrieved our shoes, and said goodbye-May Peace and Blessings be upon you. We received the correct blessing on leaving the home. The next day we met with a Vegas police officer and asked about the Moslem presence in the town. He replied that the only "Mohamadins" (a term I had not heard in years and only by tourists in the ME) were in Vegas to "drink, gamble, meet women and live it up".
Although this incident shows that at least one group/cell/association is in Las Vegas, the intelligence of its existance is not being circulated to the law enforcement community. In a place that contains high level "Great Satan" targets with little security (not to inconvenience the guests) plus military facilities that grant access to these individuals when driving taxis, I would hope that the rest of the town and military police would have knowledge of the potential threat. The fellow briefers and I had done facility vulnerability surveys in Iran, Lebanon, and Turkey. Our thoughts on securing a hotel/casino would conflict with the whole areas life style. A bio/chem weapon in a casino would inflict severe damage. An explosive of a great size could cause a massive lateral detonation far exceeding the damage at the World Trade Center.
(c) Copyright, EmergencyNet NEWS Service, 1997. All Rights Reserved. Redistribution without permission is prohibited by law.
I listen to KDWN talk radio, recently we are hearing more callers, who say they are (and voice sounds) muslim.
This station does not screen calls, therefore the callers are simply the "next caller".
One of the men that I have heard is a very learned man and he talks of the muslim religion, both the good and the bad in a manner that you are glad you heard him.
But there are also a few of the hot head calls, not many and none now for a couple weeks, but I could have missed them.
KDWN AM Radio, 720 on the dial, a big station heard all over th west. Located in Las Vegas, Nv.
Remember a year or so ago when the muslim man overheard a terrorist plot on his cell phone? and he reported it.
The FBI said it was not true, Sierra Times.com (?) also interviewed him and felt that it was true.
The Idaho Nazi group came to this area and I thought that I
heard on the radio that they had opened a camp, not here, I don't recall the new location, I am thinking it was Nevada.
I am in Mohave County, Az only 100 miles from Las Vegas.