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Posted on 09/11/2004 12:09:10 AM PDT by nwctwx
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Terror Group Has Taken 10 Hostages from American-Turkish Company in Iraq
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1219952/posts
Hmm, it appears as if I lost a few from mid August. I have them on my PC at my apartment and will fix ASAP.
Mastermind Behind Kidnap Gang 'Close to Bin Laden'
http://news.scotsman.com/latest.cfm?id=3514461
Abu Musab al-Zarqawi has been named as the link between Iraq and al Qaida and is accused of orchestrating a spate of suicide bombings and attacks in the Middle East country.
The US is offering a 25 million (£13.9m) reward for his capture. The militant is said by US Secretary of State Colin Powell to be one of Osama bin Laden’s closest associates.
Members of al-Zarqawi’s group have kidnapped Briton Kenneth Bigley and two Americans in Iraq and are threatening to kill them if their demands are not met.
Al-Zarqawi, a Jordanian of Palestinian descent, is suspected of masterminding bombing raids on Shiites in Kerbala and Baghdad in a bid to cause civil unrest.
And he was reportedly involved in the beheading of American contractor Nick Berg in May. It was claimed the 37-year-old even carried out the fatal blow.
It is also alleged he claimed responsibility for suicide boat attacks that killed three Americans and disabled Iraq’s biggest oil terminal for more than 24 hours in April.
Little is known about his personal background but he is believed to be of Bedouin stock, and his tribe, the Beni Hassan, straddles many borders in the modern Middle East.
Al-Zarqawi is said to have fled a life of poverty to fight in the Afghan war against Soviet occupation.
The Jordanian returned to his home country but spent seven years in prison accused of conspiring to overthrow the monarchy and establish an Islamic caliphate.
On his release it is thought he spent time in Europe and may have returned to his Afghan base where he specialised in manufacturing poisons and taught “students” how to make the lethal chemicals.
In 2001 he suffered a leg injury in a US missile attack against his base. The leg was later amputated.
He first came to public prominence when Mr Powell highlighted American’s concerns about him during the run-up to the war in Iraq in 2003.
The Secretary of State told the United Nations that the terrorist network in Iraq was centred on al-Zarqawi. He claimed the militant was operating in parts of Iraq free from the power of Saddam Hussein but controlled by an Islamic group called Ansar al-Islam (Supporters of Islam).
Al-Zarqawi is also wanted by Jordanian authorities. A military court sentenced him to death in his absence for leading a conspiracy to kill US aid worker Laurence Foley, 60, who was gunned down outside his Amman home in 2002.
It is also thought al-Zarqawi has been involved in operations in Europe.
Moroccan authorities believe he may have helped guide the Madrid train bombings which killed 202 people earlier this year, and he has also been linked to similar attacks in Casablanca and Istanbul.
In recent months attacks have continued in the Middle East, and a group linked to al-Zarqawi is suspected of being behind violent outbreaks in June that killed more than 100 people in five Iraqi cities.
THANK YOU NW for the pings and Godzilla for the summaries.
As for hostage taking...seems to be a trend among terrorists.
Something needs to be done NOW to end this trend.
FBI's Anti-Terror 'October Plan'
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/09/17/eveningnews/main644096.shtml
(CBS) Convinced that al Qaeda is still determined to disrupt the U.S. fall elections by an attack on the homeland, FBI officials here are preparing a massive counter-offensive of interrogations, surveillance and possible detentions they hope will disrupt the terrorist plans, reports CBS News Correspondent Jim Stewart.
FBI field offices and Homeland Security agencies will be advised of "extraordinary measures" that will go into place "beginning the first week of October through the elections."
An internal e-mail advisory to supervisory agents this week from the FBI's "'04 Threat Task Force" said the purpose of the counter-offensive is "to foster the impression that law enforcement is focused on individuals who may be a threat."
Specifically, the plan calls for "aggressive - even obvious - surveillance" techniques to be used on a short list of people suspected of being terrorist sympathizers, but who have not committed a crime. Other "persons of interest," including their family members, may also be brought in for questioning, one source said.
All recent truck thefts, chemical thefts and suspicious cargo truck rentals will also be reviewed as part of the plan. Mosques will be revisited and members asked whether they've observed any suspicious behavior.
Throwing hundreds of agents on the street and conducting invasive surveillance has become a standard post-9/11 tactic for the bureau, which hopes at a minimum to force terrorists go back into hiding and re-think their plan.
Some officials believe it was just such tactics that foiled the remainder of al Qaeda's New Year's bomb plot in January 2000 after agents arrested one operative, Ahmed Ressam, in Port Angeles, Wash., with a car trunk full of explosive material.
The bureau also knows it can expect to be criticized for the strategy if it goes too far. One element of the plan calls for addressing what some officials fears could be a wave of protests from Arab-Americans and civil libertarians once the so-called "October Plan" kicks off.
Minor Earthquake Felt in Kentucky
MIDDLESBORO, Ky. - A minor earthquake measuring 3.7 on the Richter scale was felt in several southeastern Kentucky...There were no reports of injuries or damage. The geological survey placed the epicenter of the quake near the Leslie County town of Helton in the Daniel Boone National Forest.
Ken Fugate of Keavy, about four miles south of London, said he heard and felt the rumble from the earthquake.
"At first, I thought it was thunder," he said. "It sounded like thunder, but it actually shook the chair I was in. I thought it might have been an explosion out on the interstate."
ping
The Daniel Boone National Forest has approximately three zones where limestone comes to the surface and caves are found. There are an estimated 1,500 to 2,000 caves on National Forest System lands in Kentucky. Within the Proclamation Boundaries of this Forest there are an estimated 6,000 to 8,000 caves that the Forest Service may have to manage as they acquire lands in the boundaries.
????Anyone?????
But, also, we do not see the level being raised this time. It's been raised five times since they started the color coding. But the men and women on the street, the cops who are out there on the front lines, they could care less if there was a color system. They could care if the color code is pink. They want to know what information is out there available to them to make the right decisions and to raise the color code. But, you know, that's why they have joint terrorism task forces. And right now at FBI headquarters, there is an '04 threat task force. They're dealing specifically with the information, with intelligence on what's going on surrounding the, you know, the conventions. So they are out there. They're the ones who are sending leads to the officers and the detectives and the agents on these joint terrorism task forces. They go out and follow up on information that they're getting at FBI headquarters.
Show Transcript : CNN (Live From) "Tom Ridge Warns of Terror Attacks; NYPD Commissioner Holds Press Conference" July 8, 2004
The best example is the March Al Sadr uprising in Baghdad, where large street protests began peacefully and then turned into an organized guerilla warfare front. Najaf was similar.
The protests basically allowed the guerillas to cross the area of vulnerability and gain strategic positions so they could emplace weapons and consolidate territory gains.
They were later bombed into the stone age, but the tactics they used were solid.
Combine these tactics with thousands of people who have been to prison and converted to Islam , deep hatred of America, and some knowledge of tactics, and it could be the beginning of a logistics and intelligence network. Add a few ME infiltrators who are dedicated to insurrection, and we would have a problem.
If that is the case, they should be more worried about the area residents than the DHS or FBI. Those folks have been blowin' the crap outta revenoooers since prohibition.
Ahhhh yes. I'd forgotten the OZ scenario (like the HBO series). The recruits to the cause from the population of Americas toughest prisons. You're correct. Especially those few who might have former military experience or more probably those who have gang affiliations might well pose a problem. Especially if the AQ's promise them right to any "spoils of war" they may come across during the Jihad.
Some of those guys just burn for the chance to get revenge on the "system" and the government. It wouldnt be hard at all for Al Qaeda to recruit them.
A lot would voluntarily join because it would legitimize their lives and they wouldnt have to live with the stigma of being lifelong criminals.
The prison converts could be a huge threat.
Crunchy frogs?
Yeah, but they may well be a leeeetle more cautious about attacking citizens at random in certain areas. I'll bet more than a few are well acquainted with citizen RTC laws and the risks that poses, especially in comparison to confrontations with the LEO's. IOW, a cop will first try to arrest whereas a citizen may just open fire. Of course, it depends on the scenario.
Graduates of W.D. Mohammad's High School travel the world to learn about Islam
By Nadirah Z. Sabir
June 14 (The Atlanta Journal-Constitution)--Some graduates of Atlanta's W.D. Mohammed High School are getting a chance to see how other Muslims live, work and play abroad.
The opportunity to travel overseas came through invitations from Islamic scholars who have befriended Imam Warith Deen Muhammad of Chicago on his travels throughout the world.
In four years, 100 students from throughout the United States have immersed themselves in Islamic and Arabic studies at two Muslim universities overseas.
Many of the students, about 25 percent, are from Atlanta, which has one of the only fully accredited Islamic high schools in the nation.
Excerpted, link to entire article:
WOW and we think we have problems...
Saturday, September 18, 2004 - Page updated at 12:00 A.M.
Chechen rationalizes attacks; Putin criticizes West
By David Holley
Los Angeles Times
Warlord Shamil Basayev vows to keep fighting.
MOSCOW — President Vladimir Putin and the most radical of Chechnya's separatist rebel leaders issued threats yesterday that appeared to signal a deepening of their struggle.
Chechen guerrilla leader Shamil Basayev issued a statement in which he took responsibility for a series of recent attacks, coldly listed how much they cost, and tried to justify the most recent one — a bloody school takeover in the southern Russian town of Beslan — by comparing it to the U.S. nuclear bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki near the end of World War II.
"We will fight as we know how and in accordance with our rules. We have no big choice. They offered war to us, and we will fight it until victory," Basayev declared. The fiercely worded statement was posted on a rebel-linked Web site and appeared to be genuine, although there was no way to verify it.
Putin, reiterating warnings by lower officials, implied that pre-emptive attacks on terrorist bases abroad might be launched soon.
"We in Russia are engaged in serious preparations at the moment to act against terrorists in a preventive manner," he told an international meeting of mayors. "These steps will proceed in strict compliance with the law, constitutional standards and the principles of international law. ... The frontline of this war thrust upon us may run through each street and each house. There is no rear or neutral zone in this war."
Putin also accused the West of "double standards in the attitude toward terrorism," an apparent reference to Western calls for Russia to find a political solution in Chechnya, as well as the granting of asylum by the United States and Britain to figures from the more moderate wing of the Chechen separatists.
"There continue to be attempts to divide terrorists into 'ours' and 'others,' into 'moderates' and 'radicals,' " he said. "By no means should one assume that by indulging terrorists we will gain something, that they will leave us alone. A patronizing and indulgent attitude to the murderers amounts to complicity in terror."
Chechens exercised self-rule in their Caucasus republic after defeating Russian troops in a 1994-96 war. Russian forces returned in 1999 after a series of apartment bombings blamed on Chechen separatists.
Basayev also lashed out at international criticism. "Today, when the whole world 'with outrage' demands that we stop, we find this ridiculous and ask: 'What have you done for us that we obey you?' " he wrote. "We ask George Bush: 'Was the nuclear bombardment of Hiroshima and Nagasaki a barbaric and brutal act, and how many children were killed there?' "
In perhaps the most chilling and caustic part of Basayev's statement, he took responsibility for other recent attacks. Basayev described the Aug. 24 suicide bombings of two airliners, killing all 90 on board, and another suicide bombing a week later that killed 10 bystanders near a Moscow subway station, as a protest against the Aug. 29 election of Kremlin-backed Alu Alkhanov as Chechen president: "That was us casting our votes ... for the Kremlin's wimp No. 1 from Chechnya, Alkhanov."
Basayev described the school takeover in Beslan as the "North-West operation," drawing a parallel to the October 2002 siege of a Moscow theater at which the musical "North-East" was being performed. That standoff, also seen as linked to Basayev, ended with 129 hostages' deaths.
"The plane blasts cost me $4,000 ... and the North-West operation 8,000 euros [$9,700]," Basayev said. "The weapons, vehicle and explosives which were used — all spoils of war. We only had to pay for food and equipment."
While acknowledging that two of the militants who seized the Beslan school were Arab mercenaries, Basayev dismissed Russian assertions that his activities are financed by Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida network.
"I am not acquainted with bin Laden," Basayev said. "I have never received money from him but I would never refuse such money. This year I received from abroad only $18,000."
He added sarcastically, "My main financial source is the Russian budget."
Basayev also sought to cast the school attack as rightful vengeance for alleged Russian atrocities in Chechnya.
"We regret what happened in Beslan. It's simply that the war, which Putin declared on us five years ago, which has destroyed more than 40,000 Chechen children and crippled more than 5,000 of them, has gone back to where it started from," he wrote.
Casualty figures in Chechnya vary widely, though many estimates say about 80,000 civilians — 40 percent of them children — died in the first Chechen war. Countless more have been killed since the conflict exploded again in 1999.
Vladimir Kolesnikov, a deputy prosecutor in the Russian prosecutor general's office, reacted angrily, telling the Russian news agency Interfax: "When are we going to respect ourselves and stop publishing any rubbish by those scoundrels and subhumans? I am ashamed and disgusted to comment on their evil deeds and asinine tall tales."
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2002039154_russia18.html
LOL! thanx
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