Threat Matrix: Daily Terror Threat

Threat Matrix: Daily Terror Threat

Thread Twenty-Six (Index)

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The Threat Matrix

The title refers to a daily report given to the president of the United States detailing the most serious terrorist threats against the country. To tackle those threats, the government has formed a top-notch task force to infiltrate the terror cells and cut off the danger.

"Every morning, the president receives a list of the top ten terrorist threats - this list is known as the threat matrix."

We here at FR are trying to be in conjunction with the daily reports around the world that involve threats. We try to provide a storehouse of information that takes hours of research.

YOU be the judge and get informed!

Details show extent of terror plot against U.S.
Full Story

We now know more about an alleged attack that triggered an increased national threat level last summer.

That's when U.S. officials said they had uncovered a plot targeting financial institutions. The plot involved bombs, banks and British nationals.

The detail was startling, the targets enormous. They included financial buildings in Washington, New York and New Jersey.

"I will never cower before any master nor bend to any threat."

Threat Matrix's "TM'er" Tips

Link to Thread Twenty-Five

"Code Red Implications:
Code Red - Stay Home and Await Word."
From Tm'er and Freeper ~MamaDearest~

TM Terrorism Handbook

TM Code of Conduct

ExSoldier's Invaluable Tips

TM's 'Be on the Lookout'

Godzilla's Summaries

Threat Matrix Book List

Tracking the Chatter with TM

TM designed by: Ian Livingston

Brazil summit policies at odds with US

Wednesday 11 May 2005

South American and Arab leaders at their first regional summit have endorsed a declaration condemning the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territory and calling for trade liberalisation to lift the planet's poor out of misery.

Banding together in an event aimed at dampening the dominance of developed countries, they ended the two-day Summit of South American-Arab Countries by staking out positions that are at odds with US policy on several fronts.

Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez and American-backed Iraqi President Jalal Talabani joined dozens of other nations in approving a Declaration of Brasilia condemning terrorism, denouncing US sanctions against Syria and supporting moves to give developing countries more clout on the international stage.

The summit brought 9000 troops to the Brazilian capital in the tightest security in years. Tanks were posted outside the convention centre, where 15 heads of state and top officials from 34 South American, Middle Eastern and North African nations met.

Pushing a goal he has pursued since becoming the country's first elected leftist leader, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio da Silva urged participants to fight for free-trade rules that help the developing world's masses instead of rich countries and multinational corporations.

Palestinian crisis

Arab states, under pressure from Washington to reform authoritarian governments, chose to focus on the Palestinian crisis.

The declaration calls for tighter political and economic links between the regions but demands that Israel disband settlements and retreat to its borders before the 1967 Mideast war.

The summit lost lustre with the absence of the strongest voices in the Arab world, such as Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Syria.

Argentine President Nestor Kirchner jetted out on Tuesday night in a move interpreted as a snub of Silva. Argentina and Brazil, the continent's two largest economies, historically have jockeyed to be South America's leading power, and Kirchner reportedly is upset with Silva's insistence that Brazil should be given a permanent seat on the UN Security Council.

Leaders from Qatar and Chile, along with high-level delegations from Saudi Arabia and Jordan, also left before the closing ceremony.

In all, seven of 22 Arab heads of state attended, while eight of the 12 South American leaders came to Brasilia. The United States requested to attend as an observer, but Brazil refused.

Terrorism

The document denounces terrorism but asserts the right of people "to resist foreign occupation in accordance with the principles of international legality and in compliance with international humanitarian law".

The clause - a clear reference to the Palestinian group Hamas and Lebanon's Hizb Allah, groups condemned by the US and Israel - drew criticism from Jewish groups.

On Iraq, it stresses respect for the “unity, sovereignty and independence of Iraq and of not interfering in its internal affairs.”

Iraqi President Jalal Talabani told summit leaders he wanted their help to fight terrorism, which he described as "an international curse". "For every one American killed, 300 innocent Iraqis are killed," he said.

http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/8362939C-770A-4A62-95FB-416DA1B4AE7C.htm

Thousands attend militant’s funeral in Waziristan
May 12, 2005

MIRANSHAH: Chanting slogans against America, thousands of mourners gathered in a Pakistani border town on Wednesday to bury an Islamic militant they claimed was killed in a clash between Taliban militants and American forces inside Afghanistan, witnesses said.

The US military, however, said it had no reports of fighting in the area of eastern Afghanistan where the Pakistani man, Akhtar Zaman, had purportedly died.

The funeral was held in Sarobi, a town in the North Waziristan tribal region, opposite the Afghan province of Khost. Mourners also chanted slogans in support Taliban-led militants that have stepped resistance in Afghanistan in recent weeks.

“Down with America! God is Great! We are with mujahedeen!” mourners shouted, according to residents of the town, who estimated about 6,000 people attended the funeral. There were no reports of violence.

Afsan Hassan, a resident, said that mourners had heard that Zaman was among 13 people, including five Pakistanis, killed in a militant clash with US forces on Tuesday in Khost province.

But in Kabul, US military spokeswoman Lt Cindy Moore said there had been no reports of fighting in Khost.

Many Pakistanis travelled to fight with the Taliban before its ouster by US led forces in late 2001, and the rebels are often believed to seek sanctuary on the Pakistan side of border.

It wasn’t immediately clear if the anti-American sentiment at the funeral was related to the anger that has surfaced in Pakistan and Afghanistan in recent days over alleged desecration of Islam’s holy book by US military interrogators at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. ap

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=story_12-5-2005_pg7_4

US and Pakistan exploiting ethnic differences in Qaeda, say experts
May 12, 2005

ISLAMABAD: American and Pakistani intelligence agents are exploiting a growing rift between Al Qaeda’s Arab members and their Central Asian allies, a spilt that’s destroying the militants’ network as they compete for scarce hideouts, weapons and financial resources, said Congressional Research Service’s Kenneth Katzman terrorism expert.

Four Pakistani intelligence agents, asking not to be named, said the rivalry may have contributed to the arrest of Osama Bin Laden’s top lieutenant and Al Qaeda’s No 3 Abu Farraj al-Libbi, known to have had differences with Uzbeks. They said that captured Uzbek, Chechen and Tajik suspects had been giving information about the movements of Arab Al Qaeda militants, which had lead to the series of successful raids and arrests.

“When push comes to shove, the Uzbeks are going to stick together and the Arabs are going to stick together,” said Katzman, “I think the Uzbek guerrillas have had no home and some of this could be a battle for survival.”

United States’ officials declined to comment on the schism. However, a US official noted that Al Qaeda and its allies “don’t always function as a cohesive unit.” Another cautioned, “There may be a division but you haven’t won anyone over to your side.”

Libyan Al-Libbi was captured in Mardan after a fierce gun battle on May 2. Now in Pakistani custody, he’s accused of planning two assassination attempts on President General Pervez Musharraf.

Al-Libbi used Pakistanis, not Central Asians, to carry out the December 2003 attacks on Musharraf, said authorities, “A sign of whom he trusted.” They added that al-Libbi sent a Pakistani suicide bomber to try to kill Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz in 2004.

An Inter-Services Intelligence agent said, on condition of anonymity, that tensions with Central Asians began building in late 2001, when hundreds of Arab Al Qaeda militants, poured across the Afghan border into South and North Waziristan. Hundreds of Central Asians who had fought alongside the Taliban also fled across the border joining countrymen who had settled in Waziristan in the 1980s Afghan war against the Soviets.

The official said many new arrivals took up residence in rambling mud-brick compounds run by the Al Qaeda-linked Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan. The Arabs settled in different towns in Waziristan, setting up training facilities in Shakai where they trained Pakistani recruits.

Many Central Asians had been living in the region for years without incident. But the flood of Arab Al Qaeda suspects brought unwanted attention and problems. At the same time, the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan was left rudderless. Its commander and co-founder Juma Namangani was reportedly killed in a US bombing campaign in late 2001.

Kazman said that the person who replaced him, Tahir Yuldash, was known as a political philosopher rather than a military leader. “They didn’t have a strong figure any more to articulate their interests,” said Katzman, “They had to rely more on the Arab leaders of Al Qaeda.”

The heat began to rise amid a Pakistani military crackdown in 2003 and 2004 flushed many militants out of the region. The Uzbeks and other Central Asians found themselves competing with Al Qaeda’s Arab members for hideouts and resources with Arabs having the political and economic advantage, said Katzman. A Pakistani Interior Ministry official adds that lack of trust by senior Al Qaeda leaders in Central Asian fighters added to the tensions.

Another Pakistani security agent said the Central Asians “were Al Qaeda’s foot soldiers, but they were never promoted and started feeling ignored.” The two sides began operating independently, often competing for the same money, weapons and areas of influence among Pakistani tribesmen. Captured Uzbek, Chechen and Tajik fighters felt far more loyalty to Yuldash than to the Arab Al Qaeda men.

The Pakistani intelligence official said it was difficult to get captured Uzbeks to talk about Yuldash, “but it was a lot easier to grill them for clues about the Arabs and their possible hideouts. They felt far less loyalty.”

Information from captive Uzbeks and Chechens, as well as paid informants working with Pakistani and US intelligence, helped authorities carry out a devastating raid on Al Qaeda’s training camp in Shakai in June 2004, said Pakistani officials. That raid was a turning point, driving Al Qaeda militants from their hideouts and making them easier to find.

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=story_12-5-2005_pg7_16

Pakistani and 2 Frenchmen go on trial for terrorism

PARIS: A Pakistani man and two Frenchmen of North African origin charged with terrorism for their alleged roles in a network to recruit jihad fighters went on trial here on Wednesday.

Police apprehended the three in 2002 for allegedly providing logistical support to would-be shoe bomber Richard Reid. Investigators could not confirm that suspicion later.

French suspects Hassan el-Cheguer and Hakim Mokhfi told investigators that they had been recruited for jihad by Ghulam Rana (67), a Pakistani who heads the ‘Chemin Droit’ (Straight Path) humanitarian group in France. Rana denies the allegations.

The accused are charged with “criminal association with a terrorist enterprise” and face up to 10 years in prison if convicted in the trial, which is to last until May 27. Rama said at Wednesday’s hearing that his repeated trips to Pakistan were for personal reasons. “My father and my mother passed away and I went to bury them,” he said.

Kamel Lakhram (31), a fourth defendant, admitted that he had housed Reid in his Paris apartment for a night. Lakhram faces a lesser charge for violating immigration law and is the only suspect not locked up pending the trial.

Reid, now serving a life sentence in the United States, was arrested after trying to detonate his shoe bomb aboard an American Airlines flight from Paris to Miami in December 2001 with 197 people on board. The other passengers subdued him. Presiding Judge Jacqueline Rebeyrotte first brought up the subject of Reid, asking Rana about the number of phone calls between him and Mokhfi at the time of Reid’s departure. “We called each other a lot, so what?” said Rana. ap

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=story_12-5-2005_pg7_41

Indonesian cleric accused of terror travels freely, preaching jihad

By CHRIS BRUMMITT
May 11, 2005

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) - Dressed in flowing brown robe and turban, Abu Jibril raised his fist and promised worshippers in a packed suburban mosque that every coin they donate to overthrow Indonesia's secular government will be repaid hundreds of times over in heaven.

"The government no longer looks to Allah, but to America," said the soft-spoken preacher, who argues that only jihad, or holy war, can establish an Islamic state in Indonesia, home to more Muslims than any other. "Prepare your forces and banish the enemy."

Two years after the United States blocked Jibril's assets and declared him a terrorist - the alleged "primary recruiter and second in command" of Southeast Asia's deadliest al-Qaida-linked group, Jemaah Islamiyah - he's back delivering extremist sermons.

Indonesian authorities keep Jibril under surveillance, but say they have no evidence he has committed a crime in the country, where he was deported after his release a year ago from prison in Malaysia. Now, he travels, preaches and meets other known extremists and followers.

His case presents a dilemma for Indonesia as it tries to balance U.S. demands to further crack down on Islamic terrorists with the need to preserve democratic freedoms ushered in after the 1998 downfall of the dictator Suharto.

It also illustrates the difficulties authorities in Southeast Asia and elsewhere face in bringing to court terrorist suspects who have operated outside their countries. In cases against alleged militants, getting admissible evidence across borders has proved difficult.

Jibril, who is also known by a host of aliases including Mohammed Iqbal bin Abdul Rahman, denies having terrorist links and insists the U.S. allegations against him are false.

"They are no surprise because they come from a government of unbelievers," he told The Associated Press, sitting cross-legged on the floor of the Ar-Rahma Mosque on the grounds of a hospital in south Jakarta. "If they have proof, why don't they present it?"

But Jibril, 47, won't talk about his past, saying with a smile, "It is a long story."

In January 2003, the U.S. Treasury Department blocked Jibril's assets and accused him of being the "primary recruiter and second in command" of Jemaah Islamiyah, whose operations span 10 years and a half-dozen Southeast Asian countries.

The group, which officials say got funding from al-Qaida, is blamed for the 2002 bombings that killed 202 people on the resort island of Bali, a 2003 suicide bombing at a U.S.-owned hotel in Jakarta and a string of other attacks and plots against western targets.

In Washington, Treasury Department spokeswoman Molly Millerwise said Jibril's designation was based on domestic and foreign intelligence. She declined to give details - including how much money was frozen - or say if the information was shared with Indonesian authorities.

In his sermon last month, Jibril said Muslims were obliged to join a jihad to topple Indonesia's government and replace it with one based on Islamic law or Shariah.

"Those who say a jihad is not necessary are speaking nonsense," he said, without explicitly stating what form this holy war should take. Mainstream Islamic thinking argues violent jihad is only permissible in self-defence.

The sermon would have almost certainly got Jibril arrested under Suharto, who imprisoned hundreds of Muslim activists he saw as a threat to his U.S.-backed rule. Indonesian police have arrested more than 100 militants since 2001, at least 35 involved in the Bali conspiracy.

"His heart is certainly in the wrong place, but you can't put him behind bars for that," said Ken Conboy, a security analyst in Jakarta who is writing a book on Jemaah Islamiyah.

Building a case against Jibril is made more difficult because Indonesia has not outlawed Jemaah Islamiyah, a move that could trigger opposition from Muslim groups and political parties.

Ansyaad Mbai, who heads the counterterrorism desk at Indonesia's Security Affairs Ministry, acknowledged that fighting terrorism would be easier if the group was banned.

"We know there are many JI members who have military training and the ability to make bombs and use weapons who are still around," Mbai said. "But the police cannot arrest them unless there is evidence they are involved in a particular act of terrorism."

Jemaah Islamiyah's alleged leader, Hambali, is in U.S. custody.

Abu Bakar Bashir, Jemaah Islamiyah's alleged spiritual chief, is serving a 30-month sentence on terrorism charges related to the Bali attack. He has twice escaped longer punishments after judges ruled there was not enough evidence to back up more serious charges.

Jibril was among a small group of clerics - including Hambali and Bashir - who fled Suharto's Indonesia in 1985 and set up a hardline religious school in Malaysia.

Group members, including Jibril and Hambali, travelled to Afghanistan to join the fight against the Soviet invaders, and became the nucleus of Jemaah Islamiyah.

After Suharto's fall, Jibril was free to return to Indonesia.

In the late 1990s and early 2000, he became a key recruiter of Muslim fighters in a bloody war against Christians in the country's eastern Maluku province, Indonesian officials said. A video recording from this time shows Jibril with a pistol in one hand and a copy of the Qur'an, Islam's holy book, in the other, calling for death to Christians.

Jibril was arrested in Malaysia in June 2001 for militant activities and sent to a prison camp under a law allowing indefinite detention without trial. A crackdown launched after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in the United States netted scores of other militant suspects in Malaysia, many linked to Jibril.

Two years later, Malaysia let the militancy allegations lapse and deported Jibril to Indonesia. His wife and children followed. Jibril was detained and questioned on his return, charged with immigration offences and served 5 1/2 months in prison.

At a recent meeting of militants in the backroom of a Jakarta restaurant, Jibril led prayers for the "holy warriors in Afghanistan, the Philippines and Indonesia." As he spoke his three-year-old son played at his feet, hiding in his robe.

Two policemen assigned to monitor the meeting sat in one corner, struggling to stay awake.

http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/World/WarOnTerrorism/2005/05/11/1035483-ap.html

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