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Posted on 04/14/2005 4:02:23 PM PDT by nwctwx
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TM designed by: Ian Livingston
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PRAYER REQUEST HERE:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1392261/posts
GREAT set of links MamaDearest.
The EGG's are going nuts tonight. (as of 10:15 PM EST) Dings and Gongs abound.
http://noosphere.princeton.edu/bsktobsrv/nishith/basketobserver.html#what
what's that mean?
04/27/05 The U.S. count of major world terrorist attacks more than tripled in 2004, a rise that may revive debate on whether the Bush administration is winning the war on terrorism, congressional aides said on Tuesday. The number of "significant" international terrorist attacks rose to about 650 last year from about 175 in 2003, according to congressional aides briefed on the numbers by State Department and intelligence officials on Monday.
http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=705932>
Godzilla - Lets be real about this even if the MSM will not. Most of these terror incidents are tallied from action in Iraq and Afghanistan. Funny thing is that there is a war going on there. Terrorist activity in the Phillipines, Thailand, Indonesia, and Israel/Middle East in general was at an active pace long before 911 and if anything, that attack emboldened the terrorists, not US response. Unfortunately, these facts will not see the light of day in the MSM, but they will here in FR and TM.
Let me know if you want on or off the Ping list.
04/27/04 Current National Homeland Defense threat level is YELLOW
1. Attack threat windows - America
04/27/04 Primary Window: No significant windows currently identified.
04/27/04 Secondary windows: None currently identified.
2. Attack Indicators
04/27/05 None currently identified
3. Current Terrorist Operations
AQ / OBL
04/27/05 Godzilla - breaking. More rumors that OBL has become worm food. Weve heard this numerous times and only time will tell if true.
04/27/05 The rumors on several jihadist Web sites say a new message from Osama bin Laden is coming soon. It's been almost four months since one of those videotapes or audiotapes surfaced.
snip
But now he's gone quiet, and at least one analyst says that could be good news. I don't think he's got anything to say at the moment," says Paul Eedle, a freelance journalist who began monitoring al Qaeda and Islamist Web sites before the September 11 attacks. "At least nothing that bin Laden can point to as a success."
http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/meast/04/26/schuster.column/index.html
Southern ASIA Region
Indonesia - State Dept. Travel Warning issued 03/24/05
04/26/05 Indonesian police are investigating reports the hard-line Islamist group headed by jailed cleric Abu Bakar Bashir held a secret training camp for Muslim militants at a central Java tourist resort. The military-style training camp took place in a heavily-forested area near the city of Salatiga, central Java police chief inspector General Chaerul Rasyid said. The camp was organised by the Majelis Mujahidin Indonesia (MMI), or Council of Indonesian Holy Warriors, he said. The group is led by Bashir, who was recently jailed for involvement in the Bali bombings.
http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5478,15092490%255E1702,00.html
Thailand
Monitoring - AQ attack watch #2 through 12/31/05
The documents show that in 2005, the militants plan to attack "soft targets" such as the tropical beach resorts of Pattaya and Phuket, which draw tourist from around the world. Recent attacks have hit other resort areas not affected by the tsunami.
http://www.trackingterrorism.com/Default.asp?dismode=article&artid=1305
04/27/05 Nothing new and significant to report.
India
04/27/05 At approximately 2100 local time on 25 April 2005, security forces in central New Delhi engaged two suspected terrorists from the Pakistani-based group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) in a shootout near the Pragati Maidan exhibition complex, killing both suspects. The suspects were discovered to have been in possession of firearms, the explosive material RDX, detonators, timers and a satellite telephone. Authorities indicate that at least one of the suspects may have been a Pakistani national.
http://www.airsecurity.com/hotspots/hotspots.asp#105962
East ASIA Region
Phillipines
04/27/05 A suspected member of the Al-Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf gang was killed Tuesday in a clash with government forces in the southern Philippine island of Sulu, the military said Wednesday.
http://news.inq7.net/breaking/index.php?index=2&story_id=35105
Middle East / SW Asia
Pakistan
04/26/05 Police officials intercepted and defused a car bomb in Herat on 24 April 2005. The bomb was made from approximately 900 lb/408 kg of rockets, dynamite, land mines and mortar rounds. Police officers arrested the driver of the car, an Afghan national. The intended target of the bomb is not known.
In a separate event on 24 April, a car bomb exploded in a residential neighborhood in Kabul. The explosion occurred during the evening rush hour, but no damage or injuries were reported. Taliban-linked militants claimed responsibility for the attack.
http://www.airsecurity.com/hotspots/hotspots.asp#105932>
Iran
04/25/05 Iran is not only covertly developing nuclear weapons, it is already testing ballistic missiles specifically designed to destroy America's technical infrastructure, effectively neutralizing the world's lone superpower, say U.S. intelligence sources, top scientists and western missile industry experts.
.snip
Detonated at a height of 60 to 500 kilometers above the continental U.S., one nuclear warhead could cripple the country - knocking out electrical power and circuit boards and rendering the U.S. domestic communications impotent.
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=43956>
Godzilla - What isnt mentioned is that a bomb in the range of 200 megatons at the atmospheres edge would be necessary to cripple the entire country. Explosions that big are generally in the realm of H-bombs, not A-bombs. Additionally, does Iran have the technical expertise to sea-launch a missle and have it go off at the optimum altitude? I dont think so. This to me appears to be bordering on scare-mongering.
Afghanistan
04/27/05 Mostly small scale activity.
Iraq
04/27/05 Information seized from Abu Musab al-Zarqawi's laptop computer show that the Jordanian terrorist has been expanding his jihad network outside Iraq and may be emerging as Al Qaeda's preeminent global military commander, The New York Post reported Wednesday. But a U.S. official told FOX News that while Zarqawi's movement extends beyond Iraq, the official cast doubt on reports such as those in the Post that the terrorist has now eclipsed Usama bin Laden in stature within Al Qaeda.
.snip
.
The data in his computer reveals Zarqawi is directing scores of fanatics from Yemen, Saudi Arabia and other Arab states who volunteered for "martyrdom" missions in Iraq and other countries, sources said. "The information has given us new insight into the scope of his operations outside of Iraq that we did not know about previously," a U.S. intelligence official familiar with the analysis told the Post.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,154751,00.html
04/27/05 The recovery of a laptop computer in Iraq by U.S. forces in February has helped in the capture of several associates of the Jordanian militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, Pentagon officials said yesterday. The laptop was found in a vehicle used by al-Zarqawi as he fled to avoid capture by U.S. troops near Ramadi on Feb. 20, the officials said.
http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20050427/news_1n27iraq.html
Lebanon - State Dept Travel Warning issued 4/8/05
04/27/05 Syria has not withdrawn a significant part of its intelligence presence in Lebanon, undermining its claim yesterday to have ended its 29-year intervention in its western neighbor, U.S., European and U.N. officials said.
The international community yesterday welcomed the pullout of the last of 14,000 Syrian troops from Lebanon. But the continuing presence of covert Syrian intelligence operatives would violate the promise President Bashar Assad made to the United Nations last month to withdraw all Syrian personnel. It would also contradict a letter the Syrian government wrote to U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan yesterday saying that the withdrawal was complete.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/04/26/AR2005042601264.html
04/26/05 The last Syrian soldiers and intelligence agents left Lebanon Tuesday, ending three decades of Syria's direct involvement in its small neighbor. As their buses crossed the frontier, many Lebanese hailed the completion of a withdrawal that had taken seven weeks as the start of a new era. But although Damascus's domination is past, many believe its influence in Lebanon is far from over.
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml;jsessionid=5ZXUVU4MVB2M0CRBAE0CFEY?type=topNews&storyID=8295857
Israel - Terror Attack Watch through May 1, 2005
04/27/05 Godzilla - Israel forces are at a high state of alert as nation begins celebrating Passover
04/26/05 The head of Hamas in the Gaza Strip has called upon leaders of the militant Islamic group who live abroad to return to Palestinian territory after Israel withdraws from Gaza. Mahmoud a-Zahar also said he would not agree to give up arms, Israel Radio reported.
http://web.israelinsider.com/Articles/Briefs/5379.htm
04/25/05 Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas's said on Monday that he expects Hamas to turn over its weapons after the Palestinian Authority's elections this summer.
..snip
.
Hamas leader in the Gaza Strip, Mahmoud Zahar, said in response that Hamas would not agree to disarm.
snip
.
"The resistance is tied to the end of the occupation and not with joining the Palestinian parliament," Abu Zohri said.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1114395823978
Africa
Algeria
04/26/05 Algerian security forces arrested 24 terror suspects and the army had surrounded up 20 Islamic gunmen in the mountains, it was reported Monday. Security forces in Algiers arrested four Tunisians who allegedly planned to join the Islamic fundamentalist Salafi Group for Daawa and Fighting, which is largely responsible for terrorist activities in Algeria, the newspaper al-Khabar reported. "The Tunisian terrorists were uncovered after they were betrayed by an Islamic gunman who was in charge of transporting them to one of the Salafi group's hideouts in remote mountains," a source told the newspaper.
http://www.jihadwatch.org/archives/2005/04/005888print.html Godzilla - Tunsia is becoming a secondary host to terrorism since the fall of Afghanistan and Iraq.
Tunisia
04/25/05 The State Department urged Americans in Tunisia to be alert to the prospect of an Islamic strike between now and the next three months. "We received information regarding the possible planning of terrorist activity in Tunisia," State Department deputy spokesman Adam Ereli said on Wednesday. "And on the basis of that information, we needed to take certain security precautions."
.snip
.
"The United States government has strong indications that individuals may be planning imminent terrorist actions in Tunisia," the department said in a travel warning. "We have no further information on specific targets, timing, or method of attack, or capabilities of these individuals."
http://www.worldtribune.com/worldtribune/05/front2453482.83125.html
Europe
Sweden
04/26/05 An Urgent Letter to Sheikh Zarqawi to Defend Muslims in Sweden, and a Promise to Kill the dirty dog Runar Søgaard
by SITE Institute April 25, 2005
A letter posted on a jihadi message board, addressed to the leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, asks Zarqawi to defend the Muslims in Sweden stating: we here [in Sweden], the Muslim people, cry out to you and ask you to beg the nation of jihad to use their power to get back our religion, by doing what Allah ordered you to do, especially if there is an attack on the dignity and reputation of our Prophet.
The message, claiming to be from The weakened Muslims in Sweden, refers to the statement by the celebrity Norwegian Evangelist preacher Runar Søgaard, who called the Prophet Muhammad, a confused pedophile.
Following a display of the letter, the author of the message assures the death of Søgaard, who is currently under police protection, stating: You will hear that he will be killed soon, Allah willing, just like in Holland with the Dutchman who wrote a book fighting the veil (hijab) and made a film making fun of Muslim women wearing the hijab.
Finally, the message promises that the dirty dog in Swedenwill face the same fate, no matter what the Swedish police do.
http://siteinstitute.org/bin/articles.cgi?ID=publications39605&Category=publications&Subcategory=0>
Britain
04/25/05 Security chiefs fear Al-Qaeda terrorists trained as scuba divers could mount attacks against a royal review of the fleet being held to mark the 200th anniversary of the battle of Trafalgar. A senior Ministry of Defence (MoD) police officer has disclosed that militants using techniques learnt in western diving schools to attack Royal Navy ships are considered the main threat to the event. Officials fear Al-Qaeda divers could attach bombs to the hulls of the ships, detonate explosives strapped to their bodies in suicide attacks or even board vessels and kill some of those on board.
The Queen, in her office as Lord High Admiral, will review about 40 ships from the navies of nations including France and Spain. She will be on the deck of one of the Royal Navy ships. The review of the fleet, which takes place on June 28, is the first in a series of events celebrating the 200th anniversary on October 21 of the battle in which Nelson destroyed the Franco-Spanish fleet.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0%2C%2C2087-1582733%2C00.html
The Americas
United States
04/27/05 Nothing significant.
4. Attack method.
11/23/04 No real change in the preferred method of choice of AQ which are bombs - the bigger the better. There are special concerns regarding the use by terrorists of the following types of vehicles:
1. Uhaul type cargo trucks.
2. Gasoline / Propane supply / tanker trucks.
3. Emergency vehicles (ambulances, police cars, fire trucks)
5. Significant meetings canceled:
04/27/04 No new cancellations.
6. Security has been heightened in specific cities
04/27/04 NYC is at a locally declared ORANGE where it had been since. 9/11/01.
7. Military operations.
04/27/05 No announced operations out of normal.
8. Dept of Homeland Security. / State Department
04/27/05 No new terror related announcements
9. Suspicious Domestic Incidents Not Currently Linked to Specific Terrorism Attempts
01/22/05 Federal authorities are looking into recent incidents in which people posed as inspectors to look around hospitals in Boston, Detroit and Los Angeles. ....snip...
The hospitals reported the cases in late February and early March. The first incident involved a well-dressed couple who carried badges that resemble those carried by commission inspectors. The second episode involved a bearded man. A middle-aged woman was involved in the third incident.
http://www.thekcrachannel.com/health/4408292/detail.html
Thank you Godzilla for your current terrorism summary.
http://www.inatoday.com/putins%20lament%2042705.htm
"PUTIN'S LAMENT
Don't Cry for Me Lubyanka"
APRIL 27, 2005
By Toby Westerman
Copyright 2005 International News Analysis Today
www.inatoday.com
ARTICLE SNIPPET: "Soviet-era methods are still employed. The FSB is at least as active watching Russian citizens as was the Soviet-era KGB, and Russian schools again praise the Soviet past. The Russian military, which still uses numerous Soviet insignias, seeks to mold the character of the Russian population, and has recently began to broadcast its own "patriotic" television network to develop what it describes as "pride" among Russians.
Putin supports the surviving Communist dictatorships, from Cuba to China, as did his predecessor, Boris Yeltsin. The "new" Russia under Putin also has the opportunity to assert its influence in the world's newest Marxist nation, Venezuela, with economic cooperation and the sale of a wide range of military hardware.
The USSR is gone, but it is reasonable to wonder - despite Moscow's call for an increase in foreign investment and promises of greater democracy -- if today's Soviet reverie is giving way tomorrow's Red revival."
http://www.internet-haganah.us/harchives/004022.html
April 27, 2005
"All Putin, all the time..."
Only Slightly OFF TOPIC...
http://www.cnsnews.com//ViewSpecialReports.asp?Page=\SpecialReports\archive\200504\SPE20050425a.html
"Soros Foundation Given $30 Million by US Government"
By Jeff Johnson
CNSNews.com Senior Staff Writer
April 25, 2005
ARTICLE SNIPPET: "(CNSNews.com) - The Open Society Institute, a private foundation controlled by liberal billionaire and political activist George Soros, received more than $30 million from U.S. government agencies between 1998 and 2003. Last year, Soros donated at least $20 million of his own money to such liberal groups as Moveon.org, in a failed attempt to block the re-election of President George W. Bush.
Tax records the Open Society Institute (OSI) is required to file with the Internal Revenue Service list "FEDERAL GOVERNMENT AGENCIES" as "Contributors" of amounts between $4.6 million and $8.9 million over a six year period:
1998 - $4,611,617
2000 - $4,934,678
2001 - $5,869,809
2002 - $6,138,125
2003 - $8,889,802
The amounts total $30,454,031. Records from 1999 and 2004 were not immediately available.
Cybercast News Service asked OSI to provide a detailed list of its funding from U.S. government agencies, the records from 1999 and 2004 and an explanation of how the money has been spent. The foundation did not reply to multiple requests for the information."
http://www.danielpipes.org/blog/447
Weblog
"The U.S. Army Really Does Need Help with Arabic"
April 17, 2005
ZARQAWI THE NEW OSAMA
By NILES LATHEM
April 27, 2005 -- WASHINGTON Information seized from Abu Musab al-Zarqawi's laptop computer revealed the Jordanian master terrorist has been expanding his jihad network outside Iraq and is emerging as al Qaeda's preeminent global military commander, The Post has learned.
U.S. intelligence officials who were briefed on data gleaned from a computer taken after a Feb. 20 U.S. Special Forces ambush in Iraq in which Zarqawi narrowly escaped said they have discovered shocking new details about the growing threat to U.S. and Western interests posed by the brutish Zarqawi who is rapidly eclipsing Osama bin Laden in importance.
"He's becoming the new bin Laden. He's the man out there carrying out attacks on Americans every day while bin Laden, who is heavily pressured and having difficulty communicating on a regular basis, is in the shadows and becoming more of a symbolic figure," said former CIA counterterrorism director Vincent Cannistraro.
Counterterrorism expert Rita Katz added, "Zarqawi is more visible and available than bin Laden right now and seems to be the man most willing to take the fight to the Americans," Originally considered a rival of bin Laden, Zarqawi recently pledged allegiance to al Qaeda and changed the name of his organization to "al Qaeda in Iraq."
The data in his computer reveals Zarqawi is directing scores of fanatics from Yemen, Saudi Arabia and other Arab states who volunteered for "martyrdom" missions in Iraq and other countries, sources said.
"The information has given us new insight into the scope of his operations outside of Iraq that we did not know about previously," said a U.S. intelligence official familiar with the analysis.
The official said new secret counterterror operations have been launched by the CIA and intelligence services of other countries as a result of information in his laptop.
Sources said the computer files also yielded recent communications with al Qaeda leaders including a message from bin Laden's No 2 man, Ayman al-Zawahiri, in which he urged Zarqawi to expand his operations outside Iraq to include attacks on Americans in the United States.
The Department of Homeland Security released details of that message in a bulletin to law-enforcement agencies last month.
http://www.nypost.com/news/worldnews/45476.htm
Thanks for the heads up I forget about that thing.
FBI Probe Into Israeli Spies
http://egyptelection.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=653
White House balks at Putin's offer to host Mideast summit
By Aluf Benn, Yossi Melman, and Lily Galili, Haaretz Correspondents, and Agencies
The White House balked on Wednesday at a proposal by Russian President Vladimir Putin for an international conference this fall to seek a settlement to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, saying the timing was not right.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/569353.html
Amnesty Calls on Israel to Stop Settlers From Poisoning Palestinian Livestock
By VOA News
26 April 2005
Amnesty International is calling on Israel to take action against Israeli settlers accused of poisoning Palestinian livestock and contaminating land in the occupied West Bank.
The London-based human rights group says toxic chemicals have been spread repeatedly on Palestinian farmland near three villages around Hebron since late March. Amnesty also accuses Israel of failing to find the culprits or clean up the chemicals.
Israeli police have confirmed the presence of contaminated farmland and say they are investigating the incidents.
Meanwhile, Jewish settlers in Hebron have dedicated a new five-story apartment building, despite international calls for no new settlement construction in the occupied territories.
The building was dedicated Tuesday by Israeli parliament Speaker Reuven Rivlin, one of the leading critics of Israel's planned withdrawal from the Gaza Strip later this year.
http://www.voanews.com/english/2005-04-26-voa39.cfm
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1392594/posts
"Air America probed after Bush 'gunshots'"
WorldNetDaily ^ | April 27, 2005 | WorldNetDaily.com
Posted on 04/27/2005 8:46:48 PM PDT by Free and Armed
After almost a year, news of airliner dry run becomes a newspaper headline
Texas City another proposed LNG site
Counter Assault Team members take up positions around the White House, Wednesday, April 27, 2005, as the White House went on a security alert that prompted President Bush to be moved from the Oval Office on reports that an unidentified aircraft had entered a no-fly zone over the White House compound
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1392619/posts
"Laser injures Delta co-pilot on flight"
Dallas Morning News ^ | 4/27/04 | KATIE FAIRBANK
Posted on 04/27/2005 9:53:14 PM PDT by PAR35
ARTICLE SNIPPET: "A Delta Air Lines co-pilot suffered eye injuries in the latest reported incident of a laser interfering with a commercial flight, the Federal Aviation Administration said Wednesday."
FBI helicopter crashes during training exercise; three injured
RICHMOND, Va. Three people have been injured in a helicopter crash during a training exercise at the F-B-I Academy in Virginia.
The F-B-I says the aircraft was hovering between 25 and 30 feet when it went down at the agency's training facility at the Quantico Marine base.
http://www.woodtv.com/Global/story.asp?S=3271159
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