World Terrorism : Weapons of Disruption Onging...

Whereas we have no masses, it certainly would be seriously challenging to deliver a "weapon of mass destruction" in the vast majority of geographical areas in the American West, as well as in many areas in the East and South. For instance, Montana is approximately the size of Germany, yet the population hovers only around a million (we have one representative in the House). There is no "metropolitan" area anywhere around, though Spokane is about three hundred miles away. Wyoming has more sheep than people. Utah has Salt Lake City and a few nearby populous areas. Nevada has two populated regional areas, Las Vegas and Reno. North and South Dakota have, well, a few folks here and there. Idaho folks are few and far between. I swear you can drive from San Antonio to El Paso without seeing a city policeman, because I've done it several times. Then there are Arizona, New Mexico, eastern California, inter alia. The point is we have a few population points, while the rest of the states are empty excepted for isolated small communities.Thus, out West we probably need to talk more about "weapons of disruption." (Some folks say "weapons of mass disruption," but we have no masses!)

You must ask yourself: What would I do if I were a terrorist (or a terrorism preparedness instructor) looking into the ramifications of launching a rural terrorism attack? Personally, I would concentrate on considering the consequences of disruption rather than mass destruction. Here are a few scenarios you might want consider when your local rural emergency management/response group gathers to discuss terrorism exercises.

1) Wildland Fire Incidents: Incendiary (mostly wildland) warfare has been used by military strategists for at least 2500 years, over a thousand years before the use of gunpowder. The western U.S. is disrupted, seriously disrupted, every year by wildland fires. Quite a few are started by humans, accidentally and purposefully. Starting dozens of major fires in a dozen western states could be a brilliant line of attack if militants wished to disrupt America. Thousands of security personnel could do nothing and the perpetrator/s would probably never be implicated, much less captured. Are you prepared?

2) Railroad Chemical Incidents: Many railroad main lines go through tunnels. A few strategically placed armor-piercing shells in a series of chlorine cars, along with appropriately staged derailments leaving the leaking cars in the tunnels, could shut down many main line routes in the West. Spin-off scenarios are numerous. Ready?

3) Flammable Liquid Incidents: Bridges are not easily brought down from below and approaches to bridge support structures are often highly visible and randomly monitored. However, on CNN we all have seen many tanker truck accidents involving burning hydrocarbons which have made bridge structures unusable. How hard would it be to have a few terrorists steal trucks and drive them (as opposed to hijacking planes and flying them) to strategic bridges over wide rivers or narrow gorges, ignite the gasoline (or diesel or crude), block the approaches with other incendiary or chemical releases, and make the structures extremely dangerous and impassible to highway traffic? Gotcha!

There are many variations of these themes. You probably have or can make up many more plausible, novel, and easily implemented rural-specific attack scenarios. Design exercises around them. If you want to stop terrorist events you must think like a terrorist and quit fighting last year's war!

Frederick J. (Fred) Cowie, Ph.D. E-mail: fredcowie@aol.com Phone: (24 hr cell) 406-431-3531 Website: fredcowie.com

I do not know this site, strange, it says reporters can't tape, etc at the trials, yet he reported conversations.
granny.
_______

http://www.politicalgateway.com/news/read.html?id=6399

US tribunal declines to rule out evidence obtained through torture

GUANTANAMO BAY US NAVAL BASE, Cuba, March 1, 2006 (AFP) - The US military officer
presiding over the trial of an alleged aide to Osama bin Laden said on Wednesday he was not ready to rule
out evidence obtained through torture.

The officer, who wields power similar to a judge, was asked by the defense lawyer representing Ali Hamza
Ahmad al-Bahlul, a Yemeni accused of plotting terror attacks for bin Laden's Al-Qaeda network, if he was
ready to exclude all evidence secured through torture.

After a long pause, Colonel Peter Brownback declined to commit to a blanket ban on evidence obtained as a
result of torture.

"What you and I mean by torture could be different," Brownback told defense lawyer Major Tom Fleener.

He said "a red-hot needle in the eye" constitutes torture but was not ready to commit to a prohibition in
advance of the trial.

"My personal belief is that torture is not good," he added.

But he said it would depend on the circumstances and how the prosecution presented the evidence.

Bahlul's lawyer, who has the right to question the tribunal chief to verify his client will receive impartial
treatment, said he asked the question because he alleged his client had been tortured.

"I believe Mr al-Bahlul was tortured," Fleener said.

He added that "it's going to be an issue" in the trial.

Brownback did say that torture would be a factor in admitting any evidence presented by the prosecution
and evaluating its weight.

Defense lawyers, human rights groups and foreign governments have accused the United States of abusing
and torturing detainees held at the "war on terror" prison at the Guantanamo Bay naval base in Cuba.

Brownback's comments are sure to reinforce concerns about how the US government treats and prosecutes
detainees held as part of the "war on terror."

Detainees who have been released have alleged they were subject to humiliating abuse and threats.
Documents released last week showed that US law enforcement officials expressed grave concerns about
agressive tactics used by interrogators at the Guantanamo camp.

The US military has denied systematic torture has been employed against the detainees at Guantanamo and
that any isolated abuses have been punished.

Of some 500 detainees held at Guantanamo more than four years, Bahlul is one of 10 detainees formally
charged by US tribunals set up to prosecute the Guantanamo terror suspects.

Bahlul is accused of serving as a propaganda specialist and bodyguard for bin Laden until his capture in
Afghanistan in 2001.

The pre-trial hearings in the case are being conducted under elaborate security with the news media barred
from taping or filming the proceedings.

Copyright Political Gateway 2006Â©
Copyright AFP or Agence France-Presse, 2005 / 2006 copyright info

Today in History:
March 2, 1991 - Middle East
Ceasefire Ends Gulf War
Iraq signs ceasefire agreement with Allied forces ending the Persian Gulf War.

March 2, 1980 - El Salvador
Archbishop Romero Assassinated
Archbishop Oscar Arnulfo Romero assassinated by a presumed right wing death
squad. The anniversary has been marked in succeeding years by leftist terrorist
attacks, including attacks on American interests.

March 2, 1977 - Libya
People's State Established
The offical name of Libya was changed to the "Socialist People's Libyan Arab
Jamahiriya."

March 2, 1956 - Morocco
Independence Day
France and Spain recognized the independence and sovereignty of Morocco.

Upcoming Significant Events:
March 3, (year unknown) - Malawi
Martyrs' Day
No information provided.

March 3, 1972 - Sudan
Unity Day
Anniversary of the Addis Ababa Accords that ended the insurgency against the central
government and granted southern Sudan wide regional autonomy on internal matters.

March 4, 1982 - Colombia
Extradition Treaty in Effect
The U.S.-Colombian Extradition Treaty, aimed in part at drug traffickers, came into
effect. The treaty was later invalidated by the Colombian supreme court.

March 5, 1965 - Bahrain
NFLB Was Founded
The National Front for the Liberation of Bahraih (NFLB) was founded.

March 6, 1957 - Ghana
Independence Day
Ghana gained independence when the United Kingdom relinquished control over the
Colony of the Gold Coast and Ashanti, the Northern Terrritories Protectorate, and
British Togoland.

March 6, 1988 - United Kingdom
Terrorists Killed in Gibraltar
Three terrorists of the Provisional Irish Republican Army (PIRA) were killed when
Special Air Service (SAS) personnel attempted to arrest them in Gibraltar. The three
were part of a PIRA effort to bomb a British Army ceremony.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060301/wl_nm/congo_democratic_fighting_dc;_ylt=AibgT81BVJ.tELAlRFdauzm96Q8F;_ylu=X3oDMTBjMHVqMTQ4BHNlYwN5bnN1YmNhdA--

Congo militia use civilians as human shields: UN
Posted on Wednesday, March 1, 2006 at 2:11pm
Congolese militiamen fighting U.N. peacekeepers and government
troops are using civilians as human shields in a battle raging in the
northeast of the lawless country, the United Nations said on
Wednesday. With Congo's first free national elections in 40 years due
in a few months, the world body has stepped up attempts to help a
chaotic national army pacify the east, where rebels and militia still
roam three years after war officially ended. Hundreds of peacekeepers
and thousands of government troops have fought for three days to
dislodge militia fighters from the town of Tchei in northeastern Ituri
district, where ethnic violence has killed 60,000 people since 1999.

Full Story at link.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060302/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq_japan_beheading;_ylt=AnKFkh0odijsgqGb6WfXx9VvaA8F;_ylu=X3oDMTA5aHJvMDdwBHNlYwN5bmNhdA--

Suspected Kidnapper Arrested in Baghdad
Posted on Thursday, March 2, 2006 at 6:16am
Iraqi security forces have arrested a suspect in the 2004 kidnapping
and beheading of a Japanese backpacker, officials said Thursday. The
Interior Ministry identified the suspect as Hussein Fahmi, a
28-year-old al-Qaida in
Iraq operative arrested over two months ago in western Baghdad.
Fahmi confessed to carrying out 116 beheadings, including that of
24-year-old Japanese backpacker Shosei Koda, ministry official Maj.
Raid al-Mafraji said.

Full Story at link.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20060301/wl_mideast_afp/jordanattacks_060301190924;_ylt=AqUAtruoBuuit05PqwtnKLdX6GMA;_ylu=X3oDMTBiMW04NW9mBHNlYwMlJVRPUCUl

Jordan foils Al-Qaeda-linked suicide attack
Posted on Thursday, March 2, 2006 at 6:30am
Jordan has foiled an Al-Qaeda-linked suicide attack on "a vital civilian
installation" and arrested a Libyan and two Iraqis, state television
said, quoting a security official. "The intelligence services have
managed to foil a terrorist suicide attack which a terrorist group that
belongs to Al-Qaeda planned to carry out against a vital civilian
installation," television said. A Libyan and two Iraqis were arrested
and the Jordanian authorities are trying to track down a Saudi national
and three Iraqis who took part in the plot and who apparently fled to a
neighbouring country, the report said.

Full Story at link.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/03/01/AR2006030102115.html

Europe Urged to Restrain Foreign Spies
Posted on Thursday, March 2, 2006 at 6:51am
Europe has become "a happy hunting ground" for foreign intelligence
agents looking to kidnap terrorist suspects, the leader of the
continent's top human rights group said Wednesday, urging European
governments to crack down on operatives working for the CIA and
other spy services. Terry Davis, chairman of the Council of Europe,
also criticized several European countries for not being more
forthcoming about whether they have helped the CIA carry out
extralegal counterterrorism operations on their soil. These include the
secret detention and abduction of suspected members of al-Qaeda.

Full Story at link.

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L02114922.htm

Saudi Qaeda idealogue sets rules for oil war-Web
Posted on Thursday, March 2, 2006 at 6:54am
Al Qaeda has advised followers to attack pipelines in Saudi Arabia and
Iraq but to steer clear of oil wells because they are the lifeline of
Muslim states, according to a two-year-old document recently posted
on the Web. The guidelines in al Qaeda's war against "crusaders" and
U.S.-allied governments were laid out in a manifesto written by
Abdulaziz al-Enezi, arrested in Saudi Arabia in 2005 and described by
the Saudis as a prominent ideologue of al Qaeda. In the manifesto,
which was recently posted on an Islamist Web site, Enezi said
disrupting oil supplies was the best way to hurt the U.S. economy and
destabilise the Saudi royal family.

Full Story at link.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/4765250.stm

Kenya admits armed raids on paper
Posted on Thursday, March 2, 2006 at 9:15am
Kenya's government has confirmed it ordered masked gunmen to
storm a media group's HQ, disabling printing presses and briefly
shutting its TV station. Internal Security Minister John Michuki said the
raids on the Standard group in Nairobi were to protect state security.
"If you rattle a snake, you must be prepared to be bitten by it," he
said, amid protests by opposition MPs. Three Standard journalists are
still being held without charge following a story about President Mwai
Kibaki. Both the president and senior opposition figure Kalonzo
Musyoka deny a report in the Standard last week that they had been
holding secret meetings. Full Story at link.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/4767060.stm

DR Congo mutiny ends UN mission
Posted on Thursday, March 2, 2006 at 9:16am
A mutiny by some 40 soldiers in Democratic Republic of Congo has led
to the suspension of a joint UN-Congolese operation against a rebel
group. The men, unhappy about their conditions of service, fired shots
in the air and seized food rations, a United Nations spokesman told
the BBC. Other UN officials say the men had fired at a UN helicopter in
which a senior commander was travelling. Some 17,000 UN
peacekeepers are in DR Congo to oversee elections due in June. They
have been helping the Congolese army stage a series of raids against
various rebel groups which continue to rampage in parts of the east.
Full Story at link.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4761770.stm

Top Bangladesh militant captured
Posted on Thursday, March 2, 2006 at 9:24am
The fugitive leader of an outlawed Islamic militant group has
surrendered to police in Sylhet in north-eastern Bangladesh after a
30-hour stand-off. Abdur Rahman gave himself up with two others
early on Thursday and was taken away for questioning, police said. He
leads the Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen (JMB) which officials blame for a
wave of attacks in which at least 28 have died. The siege involved
more than 500 elite troops and police. A phone tap gave away Mr
Rahman's location, reports say. Full Story at link.

http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2006/03/02/012.html

Anti-Terror Bill Clears Last Hurdle
Posted on Thursday, March 2, 2006 at 9:33am
The Federation Council on Wednesday unanimously approved a
counter-terrorism bill that would allow the military to fire on civilian
airplanes and ships hijacked by terrorists. Defense Minister Sergei
Ivanov will have to issue a secret order to clearly define standard
operational procedures and designate responsible officials to deal with
such situations, Viktor Ozerov, the chairman of the Federation
Council's Defense and Security Committee, told reporters after the
vote. Full Story at link.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060302/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/cuba_academics;_ylt=AjJXizcrR6QGybv7Xx8EuG63IxIF;_ylu=X3oDMTBjMHVqMTQ4BHNlYwN5bnN1YmNhdA--

Cuban Academics Denied Visas for Meeting
Posted on Thursday, March 2, 2006 at 10:01am
Cuban academics hoping to attend a gathering of Latin America
experts in Puerto Rico were denied visas by the American
government, marking the latest in the current U.S. administration's
trend of shutting out Cubans. Some 55 philosophers, economists, and
historians were told last week they'd be unable to travel to this
month's Latin American Studies Association congress in San Juan. Visa
requests for four academics were still pending, said Sheryl Lutjens, an
American political science professor at Northern Arizona University.
Full Story at link.

http://en.rian.ru/russia/20060302/43872184.html

Russia, China to hold joint counterterrorism exercises in
2007
Posted on Thursday, March 2, 2006 at 1:31pm
Russia and China are planning joint counterterrorism training
exercises in the spring of 2007, the Russian interior minister said
Thursday. "We have made plans to conduct the exercises in spring
2007 in [Russia's] Southern Federal District," Rashid Nurgaliyev said.
The exercises will involve special forces from China's Public Security
Ministry and Russia's Interior Ministry, as well as the Russian Interior
Ministry Forces. "We will develop skills for cooperation in
accomplishing objectives to counter the threat of terrorism,"
Nurgaliyev said, adding that the exercises would be large-scale.

Full
Story at link.

http://en.rian.ru/world/20060302/43870149.html

Hamas expects resumption of military training in Russia
Posted on Thursday, March 2, 2006 at 1:32pm
The Palestinian National Authority (PNA) expects the training of
Palestinian military staff in Russia to resume, a Hamas leader said
Thursday. In an interview with Russia's Mayak radio station, prime
minister designate Ismail Haniya said the political and economic
situation in the PNA would be among issues discussed during Hamas
leaders' visit to Moscow, scheduled for March 3. "[We] hope that the
program to train our military staff in Russia will resume," he said.
Haniya said Islamic group Hamas, which won the January 25
parliamentary election, expected Russia to play a significant role in
resolving the Middle East conflict, and help the Palestinians assert
their rights.

Full Story at link.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/4766692.stm

Gunmen free UN worker in Somalia
Posted on Thursday, March 2, 2006 at 2:28pm
A United Nations official seized by Somali gunmen in a row over UN
debts has been set free by his kidnappers. US citizen Robert McCarthy
was held by a gang hired by a businessmen who claimed the UN owed
him money. Somali PM Ali Mohammed Ghedi told the BBC some
$20,000 (£11,400) was paid by transitional government negotiators to
secure Mr McCarthy's release. This was the amount owed to the
unnamed businessman for contracts completed seven years ago, he
said. Full Story at link.

http://news.com.com/Russian+phone+Trojan+tries+to+ring+up+charges/2100-7349_3-6044266.html?tag=cd.top

Russian phone Trojan tries to ring up charges
Posted on Thursday, March 2, 2006 at 9:43am
Antivirus companies are warning of new malicious software that can
infect any cell phone capable of running Java applications, not just
feature-rich smart phones. The Trojan horse was first spotted by
Moscow-based Kaspersky Lab, which calls it RedBrowser. The
malicious code poses as an application that promises people the
ability to visit mobile Internet sites using text messages instead of an
actual Net connection, Kaspersky said in a statement Tuesday.
Full Story at link.

MEASLES - UKRAINE (KHMELNIZKIY) *******************************

A ProMED-mail post

http://www.promedmail.org

ProMED-mail is a program of the International Society for Infectious Diseases

http://www.isid.org

Date: Thu 1 Mar 2006 From: ProMED-mail Russian correspondent - promed@promedmail.org

Source: ICTV ua. News Agency, 27 Feb 2006 [trans - Mod.NR; edited]

http://ictv.ua/rus/news_ukraine.php?news_id=78746

More than 500 people are currently [affected by an outbreak of measles], which is 10 times the number recorded in previous years. About 75 per cent of those infected are young people under the age of 35. The University and the Medical College have been closed and additional beds are being made available in hospitals. Funding is being sought for drugs [vaccine?].

Rooms at the Khmelnizkiy National University are empty due to imposition of a quarantine. The disease has already affected almost 1500 students.

Measles can be a serious infection, affecting both mucous membranes of the upper respiratory system, the eyes and can even result in inflammation of the brain. The spread coefficient is 100 per cent.

Viktoriya Lenga of the Infectious Diseases Hospital commented that in 2005 only 5 measles cases were admitted to the hospital, whereas this year they have had 150 patients. Patients are still being admitted; 10 new patients at the weekend. Additional beds are being provided [for measles patients].

According to epidemiologists, the outbreak could have been avoided if re-vaccination had been undertaken in time. Larisa Kliner, the chief of the Epidemiological Department, commented that vaccination had been planned with the assistance of WHO. But this had not happened and the outbreak had occurred. Vaccine has now been purchased and a vaccine programme has been initiated.

-- ProMED-mail

promed@promedmail.org

[Khmelnizkiy Oblast lies in western Ukraine midway between Lvov and Kiev.

The city of Khmelnizkiy is located at Lat 49 deg 25 min 0 sec N and Long 27 deg 0 min 0 sec E. A map of Ukraine can be accessed at

http://www.lot-co.mksat.net/img/pic/map_ukraine_big.gif

Mod.CP]

[Post for study and research, edited. No URL, part of a newsletter]

North Korea Demands Redrawn Border

Associated Press

Thursday, March 02, 2006

By BO-MI LIM, Associated Press Writer

Military officials from North and South Korea were at odds Friday over
the North's demand that they redraw their western sea border, as they
met for a second day of high-level talks - [edited]

During the talks that opened Thursday, South Korea proposed ways to
prevent skirmishes between naval and fishing boats along the poorly marked
maritime border.

The navies of the two Koreas fought deadly battles in the western sea
in 1999 and 2002, while fishing boats from the two sides routinely
jostle for position during the May-June crab-catching season.

South Korea suggested setting up joint fishing zones and other measures
to ease the tension.

However, North Korea demanded that the issue be handled "fundamentally"
by redrawing the western sea border, according to pool reports.

The North doesn't recognize the border demarcated by the United Nations
at the end of the 1950-53 Korean War.

"The North and the South should solve the issue of the waters of the
West Sea on the principle of ... declaring a new West Sea territorial
waters limit internally and externally," the North's chief delegate, Lt.
Gen. Kim Yong Chol, said during the talks, according to the North's
official Korean Central News Agency.

South Korean delegation spokesman, Col. Moon Sung-mook, said South
Korea is "of a position that we should first deal with issues that we can,"
according to pool reports.

Two-star generals from the rival Koreas are leading two days of talks
at the border truce village of Panmunjeom inside the Demilitarized Zone.
The meeting is the third of its kind and the first since June 2004.

Technically the two Koreas remain at war because the Korean War ended
in a cease-fire, not a peace treaty. However, relations have improved
significantly since their leaders met for the first time in 2000.

Copyright © 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

[a post for study and research, edited. No url, part of a newsletter]

Iran Says U.N. Nuclear Watchdog Is Biased

Associated Press

Thursday, March 02, 2006

By VIJAY JOSHI, Associated Press Writer

Iran's hardline president accused the U.N. nuclear watchdog Friday of
"politically motivated" behavior over Tehran's nuclear ambitions, and
threatened the downfall of "bullying" Western powers and "Zionists."

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad told an audience in Malaysia that the
International Atomic Energy Agency's "treatment of the Islamic Republic of
Iran is politically motivated."

The IAEA board of governors meets in Vienna, Austria, Monday to
recommend action on Iran's nuclear program to the U.N. Security Council, which
has the power to issue sanctions against the Muslim theocracy.

Ahmadinejad did not refer directly to the meeting or the possibility of
sanctions, but he charged that the IAEA was biased because a majority
of its board of governors are Westerners.

Nineteen of the 35 nations on the board of governors are Muslim, Latin
American, Asian or African.

During a question-answer session after the speech, Ahmadinejad said
that 18 of the 35 members on IAEA's board are "chosen from Western
allies."

"Regrettably most international organizations have turned into
political organizations and the influence of great powers prevents them from
taking fair and legally sound decisions," Ahmadinejad said.

[edited]

On Thursday, Ahmadinejad said Iran wold not surrender its "inalienable
rights" to nuclear power.

He also asserted that a wave of awareness sweeping the fragmented
Muslim world "will turn into a gigantic force" that will engulf current
political alliances.

"Domination and bullying will not last much longer," he said in a
lecture in Kuala Lumpur on the last day of a three-day official visit.
"Bullies and Zionists beware! You are going to fall!"

Ahmadinejad attributed most of the problems faced by the Muslim world
to the "hegemonic tendencies" of bullying powers, an apparent reference
to the United States and Europe.

A former Teheran mayor who took office last June with the backing of
his country's hardline clergy, Ahmadinejad has provoked outrage with
statements that Israel should be "wiped off the map" and that the Holocaust
was a "myth."

For 60 years, Muslims have lived in anger because of the "occupying
Zionist regime," he said Friday. "Not a day goes by without Palestinians
being killed, their houses destroyed ... . Unfortunately today the
self-appointed champions of human rights are the main backers and full
supporters of the Zionist regime."

He also lashed out against European newspapers for publishing
caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad, noting that it is illegal to deny the
Holocaust in some European countries.

Copyright © 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

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