Threat Matrix: Daily Terror Threat - August 2006

[nwctwx]

Syria Tells Troops to Be Ready for Battle
(Full Story)

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has placed his military on full alert, citing "regional challenges", and vowed to continue supporting the "Palestinian and Lebanese resistance more than ever".

In a speech to mark the Syrian Army national day, Mr Assad said the volatile situation across the Middle East required "vigilance, preparation and readiness" and ordered all units of the armed forces to be on alert.

The comments were interpreted by Israel as a morale booster to the Syrian armed forces and not a call to battle. Israeli intelligence chiefs have assessed that Syria is not in the mood for an open war and is instead content to resupply Hezbollah guerillas in Lebanon.

	Iranian Cleric Asks Muslims to Send Weapons to Hezbollah
	Blair Says Syria, Iran Risk Confrontation
	Iran and Syria Beat the Drums of War

Thread Thirty-Nine

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[Oorang]

I searched as well and all I could find was mention of the gas station robberies from this time last year. If I do come across anything I will certainly ping you.

[FairOpinion]

Thanks. In the meantime I kept searching and found a mention -- see my post 1159 on this thread.

[Oorang]

Excellent report, with photos, from Michael J. Totten:

August 13, 2006 Inside Hezbollah’s Free Fire Zone

[TWhiteBear]

I'm picking up something about an explosive device at the White House, FNC.
Anyone else have more scoop??

[Oorang]

In case you haven't seen it yet:

Secret Service: Woman ignited a small explosive in front of White House

[Oorang]

Excellent sleuthing -

Here is some more information that I read over at Debbie Schlussel's site (emphasis mine):

You know the 11 missing Egyptian Muslim "students" who never showed up at Montana State University?

While some of them have been found, Safa Pizza--the Maryland pizza shop where two of them showed up as "employees"--should be a place of interest to federal counterterrorism investigators . . . if it isn't already.

Ditto for its owner, Egyptian Attia Gouda, who was harboring these missing aliens in his Baltimore area apartment. Why isn't ICE arresting him? And why won't the Baltimore Sun name his pizza shop in their article on the 2 students? Attention, reporters: It's Safa Pizza a/k/a Safa's Pizza.

Last October, when officials closed down the Baltimore Fort McHenry and Harbor Tunnels because of an alleged terror plot to blow it up, they arrested several men in connection with the alleged plot on immigration violations. Some of them had maps of the tunnels, etc. Guess where they arrested two of them? Safa Pizza.

http://www.debbieschlussel.com/archives/2006/08/2_missing_egypt.html

posted on 08/12/2006 7:05:57 PM PDT by bobsunshine

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1682615/posts?page=47#47

By Matthew Dolan, Baltimore Sun reporter Originally published October 20, 2005

Law enforcement officials and members of the local Egyptian community are raising new questions about an informant who prompted Maryland officials to close two Baltimore harbor tunnels and a major interstate, fearing a suspected terrorist attack. A day after the tunnel closures, the FBI has been unable to corroborate the account of the informant - an Egyptian who once lived in the Baltimore area and is now being held in the Netherlands on immigration violations. No criminal charges have been filed in the alleged plot to blow up one of Baltimore's harbor tunnels, the FBI confirmed yesterday. "I think there is doubt, because nothing happened and nothing else has been developed to corroborate the account," said a federal law enforcement official familiar with the investigation.

The informant's motives remain murky. But in interviews yesterday, associates of the four men detained in the case said they believe they know the identity of the informant and that he had lied because his friends failed to get him back into the United States. His information, which included names of people living and working in Baltimore, helped persuade Maryland Transportation Authority Police to close Interstate 95 Tuesday at the Fort McHenry Tunnel and Interstate 895 at the Harbor Tunnel. Authorities tied up traffic for hours as they searched cars and trucks for explosives while FBI and immigration agents scoured the region for the men named by the informant.

The tipster alleged that at least six Egyptians living in the Baltimore area were plotting to drive a bomb-laden vehicle into one of the tunnels and detonate the explosives. The explosives were to have been smuggled into port aboard a ship, according to the informant. Agents searched a Southeast Baltimore market and at least three pizza restaurants and detained four Middle Eastern men on immigration violations. Suied Mohamad-Ahamad, 25, and Mohamed Ahmed Mohamady Ismail, 30, both Egyptians, were taken into custody at Safa's Pizza on Merritt Avenue in Dundalk. A third man, Ahmad al Momani, 58, from Jordan, was picked up at Koko Market, a Middle Eastern business in Highlandtown. Mohamed Mohamed Abdel Hamed, 29, also Egyptian, was arrested in the 2900 block of Sollers Point Road in Dundalk.

The owner of the Koko Market was arrested on a gun charge, court records show. Maged M. Hussein, 41, was charged with violating a protective order by failing to surrender a revolver. The protective order had been obtained by his estranged wife last month in Baltimore County. 'A good man' Kamal Zughbar, 63, who lives in a basement apartment on Rappolla Street in the Greektown neighborhood, described al Momani as a friend and fellow Jordanian immigrant whom he has known for about five years. "He's a good man," Zughbar said. "That's what I know." Abdel Hamed's and Mohamad-Ahamad's landlord said the men told her they are cousins when they rented the basement of her brick rowhouse on Sollers Point Road about eight months ago.

Eileen Katherine said she was shocked when FBI agents took Abdel Hamed away in handcuffs Tuesday. "We had no idea," she said, referring to their alleged illegal immigration status. Abdel Hamed was divorced from a woman in Egypt and had a 4-year-old daughter, Katherine said. She said both men sent money to their families in Egypt. She said friends at Didi's Pizzeria Restaurant and Carryout, where she said the men worked, came to get their belongings from the apartment yesterday. 'Ulterior motives'

(This article shows the two Egyptians "students" found at the pizza joint in DUNDALK, MARYLAND this week, were at the location also raided last year for a plot to bomb tunnel in Maryland. The SAME pizza shop, the same city! "Egyptian students must have just gotten lost and ended up at the same location that was a terrorist operation before" (sarcasm)

posted on 08/12/2006 8:01:32 PM PDT by AmericanInTokyo

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1682615/posts?page=54#54

[Oorang]

U.K. Airlines Cancel Flights, Urge Army to Deploy

Aug. 13 (Bloomberg) -- U.K. airlines canceled as many as a third of their flights today and called for the army to be deployed at airports, as Home Secretary John Reid warned the threat of more terror attacks was ``very substantial.''

Excerpted

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aWH9ZjQKAVuA&refer=top_world_news

[freeperfromnj]

http://www.nbc4.tv/news/4728741/detail.html

http://www.littlegreenfootballs.com/weblog/?entry=17076&only

http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/0626/p01s01-ussc.html.html?s=widep

[AmericanInTokyo]

Have found nothing about Torrance in the hear and now. However, some months ago, there WAS a terrorist bust in Torrance, California. Here is the reference from a June 2006 CBS TV onsite news blurb (also note that two months ago, US officials were saying that there would be a major act or acts of terrorism in the United States before the end of the year, and probably 'soon'. I believe what we are hearing now have all the trappings of such a major plot utilizing hundreds of people perhaps:

Another Terrorist Attack Coming Soon? CBS News: U.S. Officials Believe Recent Incidents Point To An Imminent Threat June 5, 2006 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (CBS/AP) Quote "These individuals are often hiding in plain sight in cities like Torrance and now Toledo." -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- John Pistole, FBI deputy director (CBS) U.S. officials believe Canadian arrests over the weekend and three recent domestic incidents in the United States are evidence the U.S. will soon be hit again by a terrorist attack. Privately, they say, they'd be surprised if it didn't come by the end of the year, reports CBS News correspondent Jim Stewart in a CBS News exclusive. The first of the domestic incidents, all of which drew little attention at the time, began with the holdup of a string of Torrance, Calif. gas stations last summer. Muslim converts who bonded together in prison planned to use the robberies to finance attacks on 20 Army

[nwctwx]

Ahmadinejad's Blog:
http://www.ahmadinejad.ir/

[Vortex]

Now, he needs a MySpace account.

[Godzilla]

Special Terrorism Summary 08/13/06
Israel At War

Overall Summary and Comments
Current troop dispositions are still unclear. Whether or not there will be a cease fire is unclear. Hezbollah showed today that there are plenty of rockets, launchers and places to launch from available to them with the largest total of firings since the war began. This REALLY caused the Israeli government and IDF to significantly lose face to the rest of the arab world and shows a weakness they cannot afford to have. We will see by late tonight if the ceasefire holds.

Syria Conducting Offensive Preparations?
Yoni is reporting that Syria has started to remove land mines located in the zone between the Syrian and Israeli lines on the Golan Heights plus they have moved a tank formation into the area. Other news outlets (such as Fox) reporting the same. Clearing mines is a key indicator of an impending offensive actions. Syria would be stupid to try to take advantage of any ‘alledged’ IDF weakness.

Hezbollah Drones Shot Down
The IDF shot down two Hizbullah UAVs on Sunday night. One unmanned aerial vehicle was taken out over Israel, and the other was over Tyre. Some reports indicate that they were explosives-laden.

Ground Operations
Because adequate details are not available, the map has not been updated since yesterday. The whole scenario is too mixed up for sorting at this time.
IDF reports that they have reached the Litani River, but what their definition of that really is is know only to them. I suspect that they are along the Litani in the eastern half of the operations area, much farther away the more to the west one goes.
Much of the reporting is mired in the multiple names and spellings for places, plus there is no defined front line. Hezbollah continue to pop up and strike IDF forces along the Lebanonese/Israeli border and points in between the border and the Litani. It does appear that they have pushed into position to bring observed artillery fire into Tyre. However, this area is still far short of the Litani. IDF sources say that they will be taking out the different Hezbollah pockets within areas ‘controlled’ by the IDF once the cease fire begins. I suspect that IDF forces are consolidating their lines of communication and supply in the event that the cease fire falls through and they are given the opportunity to press the attack again. Also, they will be beginning to sweep areas for cells and rocket launchers.

Air Operations
Israeli warplanes launch scores of strikes on more than 50 Lebanese villages and towns, including Beirut's southern suburb.

Rocket Attacks
After bearly mustering 60 yesterday, Hizbollah launched its heaviest one-day rocket barrage into Israel today, firing more than 250 rockets that killed one and injured 91.

[nwctwx]

Whether or not there will be a cease fire is unclear.

Thanks as always Godzilla.

IF there is any real cease-fire, I doubt it will last very long.

Hizbullah refuses to disarm in south Lebanon

The Lebanese government was scheduled to meet on Sunday to discuss the disarming of Hizbullah south of the Litani River, but postponed that meeting following indications by the guerrilla group that they would not do so.

Hizbullah's refusal was conveyed to Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Saniora through the group's representative in the Lebanese parliament, Nabih Berri.

[Godzilla]

IF there is any real cease-fire, I doubt it will last very long.

Agree, just hope the IDF planners have incorporated this into their plans.

[nwctwx]

Godzilla's Threat Matrix Summaries

2006

Israel at War

08/13 | 08/12 | 08/11 | 08/10 | 08/09 | 08/08 | 08/07 | 08/06 | 08/05 | 08/04 | 08/03 | 08/02 |

08/01 | 07/31 | 07/29 | 07/28 | 07/27 | 07/20 | 07/19 pm | 07/19 am | 07/18 pm | 07/18 am |

07/17 | 07/16 pm | 07/16 am |

Special: The Death of Zarqawi (06/09)

03/31 | 03/24 | 03/17 | 03/10 | 03/03 | 02/24 | 02/17 |

2005

06/25 | 05/12 | 05/08 | 04/27 | 04/22 | 04/13 | 04/04 | 03/31 | 03/26 | 03/04 | 02/25 | 02/20 | 02/16

02/11 | 02/07 | 01/31 | 01/23 | 01/18 | 01/12 | 01/06 | 01/03 |

2004

12/29 | 12/20 | 12/06 | 12/02 | 11/28 | 11/23 | 11/17 | 11/14 | 11/11 | 11/07 | 11/04 | 11/01 | 10/28

10/26 | 10/23 | 10/14 | 10/11 | 10/07 | 10/04 | 09/26 | 09/23 | 09/19 | 09/16 | 09/14 | 09/12 | 09/10

09/08 | 09/03 | 08/31 | 08/28 | 08/16 | 08/13 | 08/11 | 08/10 | 08/08 | 08/05 | 08/03 | 07/30 | 07/29

07/28 | 07/27 | 07/17 | 07/11 | 07/10 |

--

Updated: August 13
Permanent Link: Godzilla's TM Summaries

[nwctwx]

Correction to link above:

Permanent Link: Godzilla's TM Summaries

[Godzilla]

I didn't realize I was so prolific.

[JellyJam]

You're awesome!

[nwctwx]

Ahmedinejad interview on now for the East Coast (and central, I guess).

Interesting thus far... he's pretty insane.

The next part will address Bush.

[nwctwx]

autobiography 2006/8/11

In the Name of God, the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate

Oh Almighty God, please, we beg you to send us our Guardian- who You have promised us- soon and appoint us as His close companions.

During the era that nobility was a prestige and living in a city was perfection, I was born in a poor family in a remote village of Garmsar-approximately 90 kilometer east of Tehran. I was born fifteen years after Iran was invaded by foreign forces- in August of 1940- and the time that another puppet, named mohammad Reza – the son of Reza Mirpange- was set as a monarch in Iran. Since the extinct shah -Mohammad Reza- was supposed to take and enter Iran into western civilization slavishly, so many schemes were implemented that Iran becomes another market for the western ceremonial goods without any progress in the scientific field. Our Islamic culture would not allow such an infestation, and this was an impediment in front of shah and his foreign masters’ way. Thus, they decided to make this noble and tenacious culture weak gradually that Iran be attached strongly to the west as far as its economy, politics, and culture was concern. After the implementation of this policy and the unreal and outward of upswing, the villagers began to rush to the cities. Upon the enforcement of the land reform, the status of the villages became worst than the past and villagers for earning some breadcrumbs, they were deceived by the dazzling look and the misleading features of the cities and became suburban and lived in ghettos. My family was also suffered in the village as others. After my birth -the fourth one in the family- my family was under more pressures ...

Written by Mahmood Ahmadinejad at 04:12

http://www.ahmadinejad.ir/