Threat Matrix: Daily Terror Threat - Thread Thirty-Five

[nwctwx]

Unrest in Pakistan Setback for Terror War
(Full Story)

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan -- A week of unprecedented urban fighting in the wild tribal belt of North Waziristan has left scores dead and forced thousands to flee their homes, raising the stakes in Pakistan's war on Islamic militancy along the Afghan border.

A jumbled alliance of foreign militants, local tribesmen and Islamic students eager for jihad have stepped up resistance in a region where the army already claims to have wiped out al-Qaida as a viable fighting force.

The unrest, brewing for months, is a setback to the U.S.-led war on terror. Further hampering that effort are deteriorating relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan over Afghan claims that Taliban leader Mullah Omar is hiding in Pakistan and suicide bombers are training here.

	Growing strength of Pakistani Taliban worries U.S. officials
	Are global events spiraling out of control?
	Zawahri calls for strikes against West

Thread Thirty-Five

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[all4one]

"My spouse is a union carpenter and in my area the only work he's getting is on the picket line against illegals stealing their jobs."

Sadly, I have seen this trend increase over the last 10 years. I oversee jobs across the country. And the problem that we have had is convincing our developers to not accept the lowest bid on a project...because we know that 9 times out of 10 that low bid is based on the contractor utilizing illegals. It has become more difficult to monitor, because the contractors and developers have seen so many other projects built at cost savings based on what I consider to be slave illegal labor.

I base my decisions to hold a hard line against dealing with the contractors who use illegals; because if we find illegals on one of our job sites...we have been know to shut the job down and call in the lawyers. I will not make concessions that lose jobs for American workers. I refuse to have our jobs built with sub-standard skills, put our insurers at risk, and long-term have buildings that may have problems years down the line because some contractor wanted to save a few bucks by using illegals. Needless to say, most contractors who use illegals never want to have me call their offices, or visit a site and find illegals.

[nwctwx]

Zarqawi, al Qaeda are heading out of Iraq, U.S. general says

Al Qaeda in Iraq and its presumed leader, Abu Musab Zarqawi, have conceded strategic defeat and are on their way out of the country, a top U.S. military official contended yesterday.

The group's failure to disrupt national elections and a constitutional referendum last year "was a tactical admission by Zarqawi that their strategy had failed," said Lt. Gen. John R. Vines, who commands the XVIII Airborne Corps.

"They no longer view Iraq as fertile ground to establish a caliphate and as a place to conduct international terrorism," he said in an address at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.

Gen. Vines' statement came as news broke that coalition and Iraqi forces had killed an associate of Osama bin Laden's during an early morning raid near Abu Ghraib about two weeks ago.

Rafid Ibrahim Fattah aka Abu Umar al Kurdi served as a liaison between terrorist networks and was linked to Taliban members in Afghanistan, Pakistani-based extremists and other senior al Qaeda leaders, the military said yesterday.

In the past six months, al Kurdi had worked as a terrorist cell leader in Baqouba. Prior to that, he had traveled extensively Pakistan, Iran and Iraq and formed a relationship with al Qaeda senior leaders in 1999 while in Afghanistan.

He also had ties with the Muslim Brotherhood, formed while he was in Iran and Pakistan, and joined the jihad in Afghanistan in 1989, the military said. He was killed March 27.

Gen. Vines said the foreign terrorists had made a strategic mistake when they tried to intimidate and deny Iraqis a way to vote.

"I believe Zarqawi discredited himself with the Iraqi people because of his willingness to slaughter Iraqi people," he said.

Huthayafa Azzam, whose father was seen as a political mentor of bin Laden, told reporters in Jordan in early April that Zarqawi had been replaced as head of the terrorist fight in Iraq in an effort to put an Iraqi at the head of the organization.

Azzam said Zarqawi had "made many political mistakes," including excessive violence and the bombing last November of a Jordanian hotel, and as a result was being "confined to military action."

Gen. Vines, who from January 2005 to January 2006 led all coalition forces in Iraq, did not comment on those reports. But he did caution that although the foreign extremists were leaving Iraq "looking for more fertile ground," they could come back.

"The question now is what kind of government is going to be formed and is it going to be credible," he said, acknowledging that Iran had significant influence over Iraq's religious Shi'ite population.

"Iran wants us out, but not too soon -- after a Shi'ite government friendly to Iran is established," Gen. Vines said. "Iran's view is that the current government is not strong enough, and if we pulled out now, there would be a low-level civil war."

[Godzilla]

A really good steak needs no enhancement other than salt and freshly ground pepper...........perhaps a little garlic. JMHO.

You forgot the mushrooms.

[Rushmore Rocks]

You're right! How could I possible forget the mushrooms?

[Velveeta]

Amen, Cindy!



****Wishing you all a blessed Easter****

Additional prayers for TM FRiends who are especially in need of prayers.

[Domestic Church]

Here's the FR thread on that article of General Vine's statement and post # 24 on it is of interest.

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1614834/posts

[Rushmore Rocks]

That was interesting. Something I had not considered.

[MamaDearest]

...confirmed that Villanueva Ramos has been deported out of California but didn't know how many times.

A truly never-ending story. The revolving door to and from Mexico - these people make deportation a joke.

Getting a handle on illegal immigrants

Snippets: # Salvadorans, unlike illegal border crossers from other Central American countries, cannot be deported until an immigration judge has weighed in, thanks to a nearly 20-year-old court order handed down while El Salvador was engulfed in a civil war. U.S. officials usually don't even detain El Salvadorans caught after they have illegally entered this country. Agents simply give them a "notice to appear" before a judge and set them free.

The remaining 200,000 "other-than-Mexicans," or "OTMs" in Border Patrol parlance, were either detained while their cases were decided or were let loose in the United States after being instructed to show up in court on a given date. (The OTMs cannot simply be sent back across the Rio Grande, because Mexico refuses to accept them.)

[nwctwx]

Iran President Again Lashes Out at Israel

The president of Iran again lashed out at Israel on Friday and said it was "heading toward annihilation," just days after Tehran raised fears about its nuclear activities by saying it successfully enriched uranium for the first time.

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad called Israel a "permanent threat" to the Middle East that will "soon" be liberated. He also appeared to again question whether the Holocaust really happened.

"Like it or not, the Zionist regime is heading toward annihilation," Ahmadinejad said at the opening of a conference in support of the Palestinians. "The Zionist regime is a rotten, dried tree that will be eliminated by one storm."

Ahmadinejad provoked a world outcry in October when he said Israel should be "wiped off the map."

On Friday, he repeated his previous line on the Holocaust, saying: "If such a disaster is true, why should the people of this region pay the price? Why does the Palestinian nation have to be suppressed and have its land occupied?"

The land of Palestine, he said, referring to the British mandated territory that includes all of Israel, Gaza and the West Bank, "will be freed soon."

He did not say how this would be achieved, but insisted to the audience of at least 900 people: "Believe that Palestine will be freed soon."

"The existence of this (Israeli) regime is a permanent threat" to the Middle East, he added. "Its existence has harmed the dignity of Islamic nations."

The three-day conference on Palestine is being attended by officials of Hamas, the ruling party in the Palestinian territories.

Iran has previously said it will give money to the Palestinian Authority to make up for the withdrawal of donations by Western nations who object to Hamas' refusal to recognize Israel and renounce violence. But no figure has been published.

On Tuesday, Ahmadinejad announced that Iran had successfully enriched uranium using a battery of 164 centrifuges, a significant step toward the large-scale production of enriched uranium required for either fueling nuclear reactors or making nuclear weapons.

The United States, France and Israel accuse Iran of using a civilian nuclear program to secretly build a weapon. Iran denies this, saying its program is confined to generating electricity.

The U.N. Security Council has given Iran until April 28 to cease enrichment. But Iran has rejected the demand.

The chief of Israeli military intelligence, Maj. Gen. Amos Yadlin, was quoted Wednesday as saying Iran could develop a nuclear bomb "within three years, by the end of the decade."

[JustPiper]

I wish they would crack down here at the locals, the Carpenter's even left the AFLCIO here in hopes things would get better

[Cindy]

Good Friday afternoon to you AD.
You're very welcome.

---

http://www.truthusa.com/RESURRECTION.html

[Cindy]

Yes praying daily for Freepers with special needs and prayer requests.
You know I am praying for YOU all.
I never forget.
I pray everyday.


---


http://www.truthusa.com/RESURRECTION.html

[Cindy]

ON THE NET...

FOX NEWS.com (AP): Cairo, Egypt - "ZAWAHIRI URGES SUPPORT FOR IRAQI INSURGENCY IN VIDEO" (April 13, 2006)

DEFENSElink.mil (AMERICAN FORCES PRESS SERVICE): "ZARQAWI, AL QAEDA THREATEN IRAQ, MILITARY SPOKESMAN SAYS" by Steven Donal Smith (April 10, 2006)

JIHAD WATCH.org (AKI): "IRAQ: AL-ZARQAWI GROUPS BOASTS ABOUT KILLING CHRISTIAN WHO 'OFFENDED MUHAMMAD'" (April 8, 2006)

"www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1612206/posts"

YNETnews.com (AP): "AL-QAEDA NO. 2: WE MUST ELIMINATE ISRAEL" (April 13, 2006)

MEMRI.org - Special Dispatch Series - No. 1133: "RENOWNED KING FAHD UNIVERSITY PROFESSOR ACTIVE IN THE U.S.: AMERICA WILL BE DISSIPATED TO NOTHING; ISRAEL MUST BE DESTROYED" (April 5, 2006)

[Cindy]

Thanks to Jay777 for the ping to this thread:
---

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1615125/posts

"ACLU To Ask Court To Void Anti-Terror Oaths"
Stop the ACLU ^ | 14-Apr-06 | John Stephenson

Posted on 04/14/2006 10:58:48 AM PDT by Jay777

[Cindy]

"...these people make deportation a joke."

OPINION: Yep.

[Cindy]

Translation:

http://worldanalysis.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=217&sid=329ef52efe3010b84683d2b04b3c1da1

"Posted: Fri Apr 14, 2006 6:03 am Post subject: Wzirstan
Wzirstan report"

[appalachian_dweller]

Good Friday to you to Cindy. This day has always held an ominous feel to it, today being no exception.

Survival tip reminder:
Always know which way the wind is blowing. In the event of a dirty bomb, chemical attack, or nuclear detonation you will know where the fallout or chemical will go and will be better able to avoid the hot zones.

For the DC area:
Tonight:
W winds 10 – 15 mph.

Saturday:
W winds 10 – 15 mph.

Saturday night:
NW winds 10 – 15 mph.

Sunday:
NW winds 5 – 10 mph.

Sunday night:
N winds 5 – 10 mph.

[appalachian_dweller]

Re #4089

Troubling developments Ian. Thanks for the report.

[Cindy]

I like to get my weather (including wind speeds for our area) from:

http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/
http://www.weather.com
http://home.accuweather.com

[Cindy]

NOTE: The following text is a quote:
---

http://www.treas.gov/press/releases/js4179.htm


April 13, 2006
JS-4179

Treasury Designates Four Leaders of Terrorist Group “Jemaah Islamiyah”

The U.S. Department of the Treasury today designated four top leaders of the al Qaida-linked Southeast Asian terrorist organization that calls itself "Jemaah Islamiyah" (JI). Today's action was taken pursuant to Executive Order 13224, which is aimed at prohibiting transactions with terrorists and their supporters and freezing their assets.

"Members of JI have been trained, funded and directed by al Qaida to pursue a like-minded terrorist agenda, including executing some of the deadliest terrorist attacks against innocents since the war on terror began," said Pat O'Brien, Assistant Secretary for Terrorist Financing and Financial Crime. "The Treasury's designation today targets four individuals for their respective roles in carrying out JI's deadly agenda."

The U.S. is joining with Australia and other countries to submit these individuals to the United Nations 1267 Committee, which will consider adding them to the consolidated list of terrorists tied to al Qaida, UBL and the Taliban.

Operating primarily in Southeast Asia, JI aims to establish, through violent jihad, a pan-Islamic state in Southeast Asia.

On October 12, 2002, JI members carried out the brutal near-simultaneous bombings in Bali, Indonesia, that killed 202 people. Two of the three blasts occurred in a popular tourist district, and one occurred near the U.S. Consulate. The attacks killed citizens from over 20 countries worldwide. Australia suffered the greatest number of casualties with 88 Australian nationals killed.

On October 1, 2005, suicide bombers attacked Bali again in what appeared to be the work of JI. These latest suicide bombings at restaurants frequented by tourists killed 23 people, including the suicide bombers, and injured at least 135.

JI was involved in the bombing of the Marriott hotel in Jakarta, Indonesia, on August 5, 2003 that killed 12 people, including the suicide bomber The attack took place during the busy lunch hour in Jakarta's central business district. JI was also behind the September 9, 2004 suicide bombing outside the Australian Embassy in Jakarta. That attack killed nine people and injured 182.

In December 2001, Singapore authorities arrested 13 JI members, eight of whom had trained in al Qaida camps in Afghanistan, who planned to bomb the U.S. and Israeli embassies, British and Australian diplomatic buildings, and U.S. and Singapore defense targets in Singapore. Members of the group had conducted videotaped surveillance of the potential targets. A copy of the videotape was found that same month in Afghanistan in the destroyed house of Muhammad Atif, al Qaida's former military commander.

The U.S. Government possesses sufficient credible evidence that the following individuals designated today act on behalf of JI through acts of terrorism and support for terrorism.

IDENTIFIER INFORMATION

Abu Bakar Ba'asyir
AKAs: BAASYIR, Abu Bakar
BASHIR, Abu Bakar
Abdus Samad
Abdus Somad
DOB: August 17, 1938
POB: Jombang, East Java, Indonesia
Nationality: Indonesian

As JI's top leader, Ba'asyir has authorized terrorist operations and the use of JI operatives and resources for multiple terrorist attacks in Southeast Asia. According to JI members, Ba'asyir needed to approve significant JI operations, either personally or through his leadership council. Ba'asyir authorized the Bali bombings of October 12, 2002, that killed 202 people. He authorized the use of JI operatives and resources for a plan to conduct simultaneous bomb attacks against U.S. embassies in Southeast Asia on or near the first anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacks. Ba'asyir also ordered a series of bomb attacks on Indonesian churches on December 24, 2000. The Christmas Eve bombings, carried out in 38 locations in 11 cities, killed 19 people and wounded approximately 120.

Upon the death of Abdullah Sungkar in 1999, Abu Bakar Ba'asyir assumed the position of the overall leader, or emir, of JI. Following his arrest in 2002, Abu Rusdan, who was previously designated by the Treasury, fulfilled Ba'aysir's day-to-day duties as emir.

As JI's top leader, Ba'asyir also made or approved important decisions regarding the JI organization. Ba'asyir appointed Nurjaman Riduan Isamuddin, aka Hambali, as the head of the JI organization in Malaysia and Singapore, which came to be referred to as Mantiqi I. Hambali was captured in 2003.

Ba'asyir called for the destruction of the United States, England, Australia, Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines in early 2005 and appealed for the destruction of national leaders while urging his followers to commit violent acts of jihad.

In March 2005, Ba'asyir was convicted in Indonesia of conspiracy in the 2002 Bali bombings and was sentenced to 30 months in prison. As a result of two sentence reductions, Ba'asyir is currently scheduled to be released in June 2006.

Gun Gun Rusman Gunawan
AKAs: GUNAWAN, Rusman
Abd Al-Hadi
Abdul Hadi
Abdul Karim
Bukhori
Bukhory
DOB: July 6, 1977
POB: Cianjur, West Java, Indonesia
Nationality: Indonesian

Gun Gun Rusman Gunawan was a leader and founder of a JI group in Pakistan known as Al-Ghuraba. This group was established with the approval of Gunawan's older brother, al Qaida leader, and former JI chief of operations Hambali. The Al-Ghuraba group was formed to groom the next generation of JI leaders, provide them with training in weapons and explosives, and give them firsthand experience in militant operations. The group reportedly also served as a JI sleeper cell. Gunawan instructed Al-Ghuraba cell members on the need for jihad against the United States and for the forceful overthrow of governments in Southeast Asia. Among other things, he provided instruction on suicide and hijacking operations.

Gunawan was also an al Qaida facilitator and was given authority to coordinate contact between the Al-Ghuraba cell and the Taliban. He frequently met with al Qaida members and served in the role of a Karachi al Qaida conduit for jihadis in Pakistan. He also served as an e-mail conduit between a senior al Qaida member and Hambali.

Gunawan was arrested in Pakistan in September 2003 and deported to Indonesia in December 2003. In October 2004, he was convicted in Indonesia on charges that he helped fund the August 2003 bombing of the Marriott hotel in Jakarta that killed 12 people and was sentenced to four years in jail. Gunawan admitted to facilitating the transfer of al Qaida money to Hambali and to carrying out orders from Hambali.

Taufik Rifki
AKAs: REFKE, Taufek
RIFQI, Taufik
RIFQI, Tawfiq
Ami Iraq
Ami Irza
Amy Erja
Ammy Erza
Ammy Izza
Ami Kusoman
Abu Obaida
Abu Obaidah
Abu Obeida
Abu Ubaidah
Obaidah
Abu Obayda
Izza Kusoman
YACUB, Eric
DOB: August 29, 1974
ALT DOB: August 9, 1974
ALT DOB: August 19, 1974
ALT DOB: August 19, 1980
POB: Dacusuman Surakarta, Central Java, Indonesia
Nationality: Indonesian

As JI's finance officer in the Philippines, Taufik Rifki has served as a major conduit for funding terrorist operations and training activities in the Philippines. Rifki has also served as JI's logistics officer and as a liaison to other militant groups in the Philippines. In 1998, Rifki trained in weapons, explosives and map reading at a terrorist training camp in the Philippines and later was an instructor at the camp. He is also suspected of involvement in various attacks across the southern Philippines, including a series of deadly bombings in Mindanao, the Philippines, in 2003. In October 2003 Rifki was arrested in a JI safe house in Cotabato City, the Philippines, that reportedly held biological and chemical warfare manuals. He is currently in detention in the Philippines.

Abdullah Anshori
AKAs: Abu Fatih
THOYIB, Ibnu
TOYIB, Ibnu
Abu Fathi
DOB: 1958
POB: Pacitan, East Java, Indonesia
Nationality: Indonesian

Abdullah Anshori was associated with JI emir Abu Bakar Ba'asyir while in Malaysia and served as the head of the JI organization in Indonesia, which came to be known as Mantiqi II. Additionally, Anshori represented JI at meetings of Rabitatul Mujahidin (League of Mujahidins), an association of militant groups in the region. Anshori is one of the most senior JI leaders still at large.

Background on Jemaah Islamiyah

The United States named JI a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) and a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) on October 23, 2002. Two days later, JI was added to the United Nations 1267 Committee's consolidated list of terrorists tied to Usama bin Laden (UBL), al Qaida or the Taliban. Notably, 36 countries supported the UN listing of JI, the single largest designation action to occur since the attacks of September 11, 2001. All UN member states are required to block the assets of persons on its consolidated sanctions list, as well as institute an arms embargo and travel ban against them.

On January 24, 2003, two senior JI leaders, Nurjaman Riduan Isamuddin, aka Hambali, and Mohamad Iqbal Abdurrahman, aka Abu Jibril, were designated as SDGTs under E.O. 13224. They were added to the UN 1267 Committee sanctions list on January 28, 2003.

On September 5, 2003, an additional 19 individuals supporting and/or committing acts of terrorism on behalf of JI, and one non-JI co-conspirator in the 1995 plot to simultaneously blow up 12 U.S. commercial airliners while airborne, were designated as SDGTs under E.O. 13224. These individuals were added to the UN 1267 Committee sanctions list on September 9, 2003.

On May 12, 2005, three additional key JI members were designated as SDGTs under E.O. 13224. These individuals are Abu Rusdan, Zulkarnaen and Joko Pitono, aka Dulmatin. They were added to the UN 1267 Committee sanctions list on May 16, 2005.