Posted on 08/07/2006 3:43:15 PM PDT by DAVEY CROCKETT
Tehran & Damascus Move to Lebanon Lebanon-born Walid Phares is a senior fellow at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies. Author of the recent book Future Jihad, he was also one of the architects of 2004’s United Nations resolution 1559, which called for the disarming of Hezbollah. NRO editor Kathryn Lopez recently talked to Phares about what’s going on in the Mideast, what happened to the Cedar Revolution, and this war we’re all in.
Kathryn Jean Lopez: What is “Future Jihad”? Are we seeing it in the Mideast now?
Walid Phares: “Future Jihad,” which has already begun, refers to a new and potent form of Islamic terrorism, characterized by a Khumeinist-Baathist axis. These are the two trees of jihadism, so to speak — the Salafism and Wahabism embodied in al Qaeda and the sort of jihadism led by Iran and also including Syria, Hezbollah, and their allies in Lebanon.
The alliance has not been in entire agreement as to strategy. The al Qaeda branch began its “Future Jihad” in the 1990s; its efforts culminated on 9/11 and have continued explosively since then. The international “Salafists” aimed at the U.S. in the past decade in order to strengthen their jihads on various battlefields (Chechnya, India, Sudan, Algeria, Indonesia, Palestine, etc.). “Weaken the resolve of America,” their ideologues said, “and the jihadists would overwhelm all the regional battlefields.”
As I argue in Future Jihad, bin Laden and his colleagues miscalculated on the timing of the massive attack against the U.S. in 2001. While they wounded America, they didn’t kill its will to fight (as was the case, for instance, in the Madrid 3/11 attacks). I have heard many jihadi cadres online, and have seen al Jazeera commentators on television, offering hints of criticism about the timing. They were blaming al Qaeda for shooting its imagined “silver bullet” before insuring a strategic follow up. But bin Laden and Zawahiri believe 9/11 served them well, and has put a global mobilization into motion. Perhaps it has, but the U.S. counter strategy in the Middle East, chaotic as the region currently appears, has unleashed counter jihadi forces. The jury is still out as to the time factor: when these forces will begin to weaken the jihadists depends on our perseverance and the public understanding of the whole conflict.
The other “tree” of jihadism, with its roots in Iran, withheld fire after 9/11. They were content to watch the Salafists fight it out with the U.S.-led coalition in Afghanistan and Iraq, not to mention within the West, as terror cells were hunted down. Ahmedinejad, Assad, and Nasrallah were analyzing how far the US would go, and how far the Sunnis and Salafis would go as well.
The fall of the Taliban and of the Baath in Iraq, however, changed Iran and Syria’s patient plans. The political changes in the neighborhood, regardless of their immediate instability, were strongly felt in Tehran and Damascus (but unfortunately not in the U.S., judging from the political debate here), and pushed the Khumeinists and the Syrian Baathists to enter the dance, but carefully. Assad opened his borders to the jihadists in an attempt to crumble the U.S. role in Iraq, while Iran articulated al Sadr’s ideology for Iraq’s Shiia majority.
A U.S.-led response came swiftly in 2004 with the voting of UNSCR 1559, smashing Syria’s role in Lebanon and forcing Assad to withdraw his troops by April 2005. In response, the “axis” prepared for a counter attack on the Lebanese battlefield by assassinating a number of the Cedar Revolution leaders, including MP Jebran Tueni. In short, the attacks by Hamas and Hezbollah and the kidnappings of soldiers were the tip of an offensive aimed at drawing attention away from Iran’s nuclear weapons programs and Syria’s assassination of Lebanese Prime Minister Hariri. Hezbollah was awaiting its moment for revenge against the Cedar Revolution too.
What we see now is 1) a Syro-Iranian sponsored offensive aimed at all democracies in the region and fought in Lebanon; 2) Israel’s counter offensive (which it seems to have prepared earlier); and 3) an attempt by Hezbollah to take over or crumble the Lebanese government.
Lopez: So…did the Cedar Revolution fail?
Phares: Actually, it would be more accurate to say that the Cedar Revolution was failed. The masses in Lebanon responded courageously in March 2005 by putting 1.5 million people on the streets of Beirut. They did it without “no-fly-zones,” expeditionary forces, or any weapons at all, for that matter, and against the power of three regimes, Iran, Syria, and pro-Syrian Lebanon, in addition to Hezbollah terror. The “revolution” was for a time astoundingly successful; since then it has been horribly failed, and first of all by Lebanon’s politicians themselves. One of their leaders, General Michel Aoun, shifted his allegiances to Syria and signed a document with Hezbollah. Other politicians from the “March 14 Movement” then stopped the demonstrations, leaving them with the support of God knows what. They failed in removing the pro-Syrian President Emile Lahoud and brought back a pro-Syrian politician to serve as a speaker of the house, Nabih Berri. Meanwhile, even as they were elected by the faithful Cedar Revolution masses, they engaged in a round table dialogue with Hezbollah, a clear trap set by Hassan Nasrallah: “Let’s talk about the future,” he said — with the implication, of course, that they forget about the Cedar Revolution and the militia’s disarming. While political leaders sat for months, enjoying the photo ops with Hassan Nasrallah, he was preparing his counter offensive, which he unleashed just a few days before the Security Council would discuss the future of Iran’s nuclear programs.
The Lebanese government of Prime Minister Seniora also abandoned the Cedar Revolution. His cabinet neither disarmed Hezbollah nor called on the U.N. to help in implementing UNSCR 1559. This omission is baffling. The government was given so much support by the international community and, more importantly, overwhelming popular support inside Lebanon: 80 percent of the people were hoping the Cedar Revolution-backed government would be the one to resume the liberation of the country. Now Hezbollah has an upper hand and the government is on the defensive.
The U.S. and its allies can be accused of certain shortcomings as well. While the speeches by the U.S. president, congressional leaders from both parties, Tony Blair, and Jacques Chirac were right on target regarding Lebanon, and while the U.S. and its counterparts on the Security Council were diligent in their follow up on the Hariri assassination and on implementing UNSCR 1559, there was no policy or plan to support the popular movement in Lebanon. Incredibly, while billions were spent on the war of ideas in the region, Lebanese NGOs that wanted to resume the struggle of the Cedar Revolution and fighting alone for this purpose were not taken seriously at various levels. Policy planners thought they were dealing with the “Cedar Revolution” when they were meeting Lebanon’s government and Lebanese politicians. The difference between the high level speeches on Lebanon and the laissez-faire approach from lower levels is amazing. Simply put, there was no policy on supporting the Cedar Revolution against the three regimes opposing it and the $400 million received by Hezbollah from Iran.
The Cedar Revolution was basically betrayed by its own politicians and is now essentially without a head. Nevertheless, as long as the international support remains, the Revolution will find its way and will face the dangers. The one and a half million ordinary citizens who braved all the dangers didn’t change their minds about Hezbollah’s terror. The resistance and counter-attack was to be expected. Unfortunately, thus far Iran, Syria, and Hezbollah have outmaneuvered the West and are at the throats of the Cedar Revolution. The international community must revise its plans, and, if it is strongly backed by the U.S. and its allies, including France, the situation can be salvaged. The good seeds are still inside the country.
More at link...
News of the World [UK]
Aug. 13, 2006
[MEW editor's note: The article below appeared in the
largest-circulation UK newspaper, which claims nine million readers.
The
writer was commissioner of the metropolitan London police service in
2000-05. -- J.M.H.]
IF YOU'RE A MUSLIM - IT'S YOUR PROBLEM
[by John Arthur Stevens, Baron Stevens of Kirkwhelpington]
http://www.newsoftheworld.co.uk/lordstevens.shtml
WHEN will the Muslims of Britain stand up to be counted?
When will they declare, loud and clear, with no qualifications or
quibbles about Britain's foreign policy, that Islamic terrorism is
WRONG?
Most of all, when will the Muslim community in this country accept an
absolute, undeniable, total truth: that Islamic terrorism is THEIR
problem? THEY own it. And it is THEIR duty to face it and eradicate it.
To stop the denial, endless fudging and constant wailing that somehow
it
is everyone else's problem and, if Islamic terrorism exists at all,
they
are somehow the main victims.
Because until that happens the problem will never be resolved. And
there
will be more 7/7s and, sometime in the future, another airplane plot
will succeed with horrific loss of innocent life.
Equally important, those British politicians who have seemed obsessed
with pandering to, and even encouraging, this state of denial, must
throw off their politically-correct blinkers and recognise the same
truth-that Muslim terrorism in Britain is the direct responsibility of
British Muslims.
If only they would follow the lead of Home Secretary John Reid, whose
tough, pragmatic, clear-sighted approach has been a breath of fresh
air.
Only then can they properly work out how to tackle it.
For instance, every airport in Britain is in chaos over the plane
bomb-plot alert as every passenger is subjected to rigorous security
checks. Why? They take lots of time, lots of staff, and are extremely
expensive.
I'm a white 62-year-old 6ft 4ins suit-wearing ex-cop-I fly often, but
do
I really fit the profile of suicide bomber? Does the young mum with
three tots? The gay couple, the rugby team, the middle-aged
businessman?
No. But they are all getting exactly the same amount and devouring huge
resources for no logical reason whatsoever. Yet the truth is Islamic
terrorism in the West has been universally carried out by young Muslim
men, usually of ethnic appearance, almost always travelling alone or in
very small groups. A tiny percentage, I bet, of those delayed today
have
such characteristics.
This targeting of airport resources is called passenger profiling-the
Israelis invented it and they've got probably the safest airports and
airlines in the world.
In all my years at the front line of fighting terrorism, one truth was
always clear - communities beat terrorists, not governments or security
forces. But communities can't beat terrorism unless they have the will
to do so. My heart sank this week as I saw and read the knee-jerk
reaction of friends and neighbours of those arrested in this latest
incident, insisting it was all a mistake and the anti-terrorist squad
had the wrong people.
I have no idea whether those arrested are guilty or not. But neither
have those friends and neighbours. They spoke as if it was
inconceivable
such a thing could happen in their community; that those arrested were
all good Muslims; that Islam is a religion of peace so no Muslim could
dream of planning such an act.
But we heard the same from the family and friends of the 7/7 bombers,
didn't we?
And the two young British Muslims who died as suicide bombers in
Israel.
Then there are the British Muslims known to have become suicide bombers
in Iraq.
There is currently a huge, long-running and complex alleged Islamist
bomb plot being tried at the Old Bailey. And a fistful of other cases
of
alleged Muslim terrorism plots such as the 21/7 London Underground case
are also awaiting trial.
All this would suggest the blindingly obvious-that terrorism is a major
problem for the Muslim community of Britain. Of course, there will be
instant squealings that this is racism. It's not. It's exactly the same
as recognising that, during the Northern Ireland troubles that left
thousands dead, the IRA were totally based in the Catholic community
and
the UVF in the Protestant.
And that, most importantly, IRA terrorism only began to draw to a close
when that Catholic community it was based in decided as a whole that it
was no longer prepared to back violence as the only way forward.
Interestingly, it was Catholic revulsion over republican terrorist
atrocities such as Enniskillen and Omagh that fuelled that change.
Well, Muslim terrorism in Britain is based in, has its roots in, and
grows in, our Muslim community. The madmen of 7/7 and other suicide
bombings didn't hide among the Hindu communities, worship in the Sikh
temples, recruit at Catholic churches, did they? It may be true that
events in Iraq have angered sections of the Muslim community. I have no
doubts, whatever Tony Blair says, that it was a catalyst. I also think
it's entirely fair for Muslims, if they wish, to vocally oppose
Britain's continuing involvement there.
I can recognise, too, that recent events in Lebanon inflame some
people,
and they want their voices of protest heard. The absolutely
unacceptable
problem is that this opposition is used by too many to turn a blind eye
to, or excuse, terrorists in their midst.
Blasting a passenger airliner out of the sky, killing hundreds of
innocent men, women and children, is NEVER acceptable. Under any
circumstances. There is NEVER an excuse.
A terrible tragedy costing Muslim lives in Lebanon or Iraq or
Afghanistan is never ever an excuse for terrorism here.
It is totally unacceptable, totally wrong. What one party perceives as
a
wrong, no matter how strongly they feel, does not, in turn, justify
another wrong being done to avenge it.
And until every single member of the Muslim community believes that and
preaches that-from an ordinary parent to imam or madrassa
teacher-terrorism can't be beaten.
Politicians must accept this truth, and do something about it. One
example would be to tackle this chaos at our airports and the passenger
profiling I described earlier. Another must is to reconsider ID cards.
The importance of knowing whether someone really is who they say they
are has never been higher.
This must be combined with improved border controls, logging exactly
who
goes OUT of the country as well as who comes in should also be
reconsidered, whatever the politically correct among us may say. The
time terrorism suspects are kept in custody before charge has also
caused dissent. Currently the maximum is 28 days-it may well be this
should be reconsidered and, if necessary, raised again to, say, 42
days.
Plainly, Muslim terrorism isn't going away. We need to consider
everything in our battle to defeat it. But that's the responsibility of
all.
Not least the community where, sadly for them, it is festering.
Mail & Guardian [South Africa]
11 August 2006 10:19
Current Middle East crisis a prelude to the next
by Amir Mizroch
http://www.mg.co.za/articlePage.aspx?articleid=280486&area=/insight/insi
ght__international/
On July 12 2006, Hezbollah guerrillas launched a cross-border attack on
Israeli soldiers patrolling the United Nations-recognised "Blue Line"
separating Lebanon and Israel. In that attack, Hezbollah gunmen killed
eight Israel Defence Forces (IDF) soldiers and kidnapped two more.
Several hours later, Israel launched a counter-offensive to retrieve
its
kidnapped soldiers and change the status quo in southern Lebanon.
One month has passed since then and much blood has been spilled on both
sides, but at the time of this writing, the balance of forces along the
south Lebanon/north Israel border, as well as the internal Lebanese
balance of forces, has not changed dramatically. Despite statements to
the contrary, it seems that the Israeli military campaign has thus far
failed to achieve a significant degradation of Hezbollah's military
capabilities -- in terms of medium- and long-range rockets and fighting
men.
Also, Hezbollah's popular stock in the Arab world seems to be rising,
pointing to another failure on the part of Israel to weaken the group
politically. Moderate Arab regimes that initially blasted Hezbollah for
its "reckless adventurism" now find themselves in a position in which
they have to pander to their populations' adulation of Hezbollah (for
standing up to Israel) or face increasing pressure on their legitimacy.
Israel's initial strategy was to "convince" the Lebanese government,
headed by Fouad Siniora, that Hezbollah was out of control (or in the
control of Iran) and was an element that Lebanon "had to vomit out".
Israeli government officials constantly say that Israel's fight is not
with Lebanon, but with Hezbollah. The Lebanese government's dilemma is
that if it confronts the militant Shi'ite group, it risks restarting a
civil war in Lebanon, a civil war that tore the country apart for
almost
two decades, not so long ago.
At this stage, Beirut has said it will deploy a force of 15 000
Lebanese
army troops to the south, the first time Beirut has shown readiness to
exert its authority over its entire country. It remains to be seen how
effective this force is in creating the political climate in Lebanon
and
Israel for Hezbollah to stop firing rockets at Israel, and an end to
Israeli efforts to decapitate the guerrilla group.
Meanwhile, the IDF and Hezbollah continue to trade blows, with both
sides suffering mounting casualties in fighting men. On the home front,
the casualties continue to mount as Hezbollah fires rockets at Israeli
towns, and Israeli jets drop bombs on Hezbollah positions deeply
enmeshed within a sympathetic civilian population.
So far for the picture on the local, tactical and micro situation. This
summer's localised war between Israel and Hezbollah is being played out
within a larger context of international relations all pointing in the
direction of a military confrontation between the United States, Israel
and perhaps some other allies on the one side, and Iran on the other
side, possibly within the next two years.
Israeli and US officials believe Iran is intent on attaining a nuclear
weapons capability, something which, left to its own devices, Tehran
could attain within 18 months. Now, with Iran's president openly
calling
for the destruction of Israel, officials in Jerusalem have made it
clear
the Jewish state finds the idea of a nuclear-armed Iran totally
unacceptable. The current fighting may be the opening shot in that
larger conflict, leading ultimately to a frontal confrontation between
Jerusalem and Tehran -- something neither side wants but, as long as
Iran persists in obtaining a nuclear weapon, seems inevitable.
Some in Israel may be thinking that it would be better to precipitate a
coming war with Iran now, rather than later, when Iran may already have
a nuclear option. A war between a nuclear-armed Israel and a
nuclear-armed Iran is a nightmare scenario that Israeli officials, as
well as much of the world, are desperate to avoid. The official line in
Israel is that a nuclear-armed Iran is a global, and not just an
Israeli, problem -- and thus Israel is not at the forefront of efforts
to thwart Tehran's nuclear drive. But make no mistake: Israel will do
everything necessary to make sure Iran, under its current regime, does
not get nuclear weapons.
The mullahs in Iran know this all to well, and are trying to play for
time by keeping the Jewish state militarily busy fighting its proxy in
Lebanon -- Hezbollah. Tehran would like nothing more than for this
conflict to turn into a prolonged war of attrition, with the world's
attention focused on southern Lebanon, and not on nuclear research
facilities at Natanz and Bushehr in Iran. Eventually, Iran drops its
nuclear ambition in exchange for diplomatic incentives, or the
international community disarms Iran's nuclear programme -- or Israel
does it.
Iran wants nuclear weapons because it has seen what the US is capable
of
with the removal of Saddam Hussein in Iraq. Tehran also wants to
project
its power outwards in the Middle East due to the vacuum created by the
troubles in Iraq (troubles it is fanning). At its most fundamental
foreign-policy level, Iran wants to become what Samuel P Huntington
called "Islam's core state" so that it can justify the existence and
continued rule of ageing religious autocrats in a country overflowing
with youngsters wanting to engage with the world.
Syria, for its part, wants no part of this wider war, and is the key
element in ending the local war. Hezbollah is resupplied by Syria and
Iran through Syrian territory into Lebanon's Bekaa Valley in north-east
and southern Lebanon. In exchange for a resumption of substantive talks
with the US and Israel on the fate of the Golan Heights (captured by
Israel in the 1967 war), Syria may be diplomatically engaged
sufficiently to move away from its only real friend in the world at
this
stage: Iran.
If Syria gets what it wants (the Golan), it could in return stop
supplying Hezbollah with weapons, a move that would isolate Hezbollah
and make it either more vulnerable to destruction by the IDF or more
amenable to a diplomatic solution.
Don't expect a solution to the current Middle East crisis until a
resolution is found for the next one.
---
Amir Mizroch, born in Israel and raised in South Africa, is currently
the news editor of the Jerusalem Post
TerroristWarning.com Terrorism Headlines 08/14/2006
National:
[WCHS] USA - Homeland Security lowers alert level from red to orange
http://www.wchstv.com/newsroom/nnews/news1.shtml
[AP] USA - Security threats cause temporary shutdown at Detroit airport, evacuation at Dallas airport
"Customs area at a Detroit airport was briefly shut down Saturday after a passenger claimed he had contaminated everyone on a flight with a biological agent"
"Meanwhile, in Dallas, officials evacuated part of a terminal airport because a suitcase was smoking and leaking liquid"
http://www.newspress.com/Top/Article/article.jsp?Sectionfiltered=NATIONAL&ID=564786726519046275
[WDTV] WEST VIRGINIA - Police Find Explosive-Making Chemicals in Morgantown
http://www.wdtv.com/viewstory.html?name=4334556
[KATU] OREGON - Suspicious devices found in two Salem locations
"device was reportedly an actual explosive and was attached to a vehicle"
http://www.katu.com/salem/story.asp?ID=88354
[KATU] OREGON - Salem area evacuated after possible pipe bomb found
"cylindrical object, possibly a pipe bomb, was found about 30 yards from the entrance of a Roth's IGA supermarket "
http://www.katu.com/stories/88352.html
[KOIN] OREGON - Third Pipe Bomb Found In Salem
"Police Don't Know If Bombs Connected "
http://www.koin.com/news.asp?RECORD_KEY%5Bnews%5D=ID&ID%5Bnews%5D=5615
[Statesman Journal] OREGON - Four pipe bombs found, destroyed in Mid-Valley
http://www.statesmanjournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060811/NEWS/608110315/1001
[Statesman Journal] OREGON - Authorities issue bomb warning
http://www.statesmanjournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060812/NEWS/608120332/1001
[Hillsboro Argus] OREGON - Investigators: Lumber yard fire suspicious [Possible ecoterrorism]
http://www.oregonlive.com/news/argus/index.ssf?/base/news/1155317573272050.xml&coll=6
[NY1 News] USA - Post-9/11, US Coast Guard Makes Port Security A Top Priority
http://www.ny1.com/ny1/content/index.jsp?stid=1&aid=61721
[STLToday.com] MISSOURI - Homemade bomb found at recruiting office
"Authorities discovered a homemade bomb at the Army-Air Force recruiting office in Webster Groves early Thursday morning"
http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/stlouiscitycounty/story/91F917A98745FEBC862571C7000BFE54?OpenDocument
[AP] USA - FBI Now Has 6 of 11 Missing Exchange Students
http://cbs3.com/topstories/topstories_story_222150824.html
[Intelligencer Journal] PENNSYLVANIA - Pa. officials: Call tipline if something is suspicious
http://local.lancasteronline.com/4/24738
[UPI] NEW HAMPSHIRE - Security lapses at Seabrook nuclear plant
http://www.upi.com/SecurityTerrorism/view.php?StoryID=20060811-114547-1439r
[Marion Chronicle Tribune ] MICHIGAN - Police forward suspicions to FBI
"Reports of strange buying patterns at local Wal-Mart seem to parallel charges filed against men in Ohio, Michigan"
"According to police, about four times this year a group of people who appear to be of Middle-Eastern descent have gone to Wal-Mart trying to purchase multiple pre-paid cell phones, which are not traceable back to the user, and have then displayed strange behavior, such as discarding all packaging and accessories that come with the phones"
http://www.chronicle-tribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060812/NEWS01/608120333/1002
[AP] WISCONSIN - Terrorism charges on 80 cell phone purchases includes Wisconsin
"Police stopped the men’s van about 1:30 a.m. and found nearly 1,000 phones, most of which were prepaid TracFones, along with a laptop computer and a bag of receipts, Stevenson said. The receipts were from several locations, including a Wisconsin store"
"men, who are from the Dallas area, were being held on charges of soliciting or providing material support for terrorism and obtaining information of a vulnerable target for the purposes of terrorism"
http://www.postcrescent.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060811/APC0101/60811073/1979
[WBOY] WEST VIRGINIA 08/03/2006 - FBI Interested in Large Prepaid Cell Phone Purchases
"Store clerks in Grafton say people have been coming into their stores and buying several phones at a time"
http://www.wboy.com/story.cfm?func=viewstory&storyid=12819
[South Florida Sun-Sentinel] FLORIDA - South Florida Muslims worry their mosques will be targeted
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/southflorida/sfl-cmuslimaug12,0,3795853.story?coll=sfla-home-headlines
[AP] CALIFORNIA - Mosque windows broken, authorities say not hate crime
http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/local/states/california/northern_california/15261478.htm
[Washington Post] WASHINGTON DC - Workers, Filmgoers Evacuated After Suspicious Parcel Found
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/08/11/AR2006081102202.html
[AP] MICHIGAN - Plot against bridge?
"Investigators believe those men were targeting the 5-mile-long Mackinac Bridge"
http://www.themorningsun.com/stories/081306/loc_phones001.shtml
[The Raw Story] USA - US plans for hijacked plane shoot downs [With video]
http://www.rawstory.com/news/2006/VIDEO_Shootdown_Procedure_for_Hijacked_Airliners_0811.html#comments
[LA Daily News] USA / MEXICO BORDER - Anti-illegal-immigrant groups multiply
http://www.dailynews.com/news/ci_4174699
[nbc5i.com] TEXAS - Man Steals 13 Propane Tanks In Broad Daylight [Video]
http://www.nbc5i.com/news/9517815/detail.html
[AP] USA - All missing Egyptian students in custody
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060814/ap_on_re_us/egyptians_missing_1
International:
[AP] ISRAEL - Men held at PMO after suspicious material found
"Security guards at Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's office detected a "suspicious substance" Sunday in the shoes of an Arab man trying to enter the building"
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1154525862709&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
[AP] ISRAEL - Israel Radio: 4,000 Hizbullah rockets hit Israel
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1154525864026&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
[XFN-ASIA] UNITED KINGDOM - UK stopped at least four terror plots since July 7 - Reid
http://www.forbes.com/business/feeds/afx/2006/08/13/afx2945929.html
[The Independent] UNITED KINGDOM - Target Britain: Wave of attacks planned, say investigators
http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/crime/article1218895.ece
[DPA] INDIA - India boosts security in nuclear plants, cities after terror threat
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticleNew.asp?xfile=data/subcontinent/2006/August/subcontinent_August469.xml§ionfiltered=subcontinent
[RIA Novosti] RUSSIA - Major bomb attack foiled in S. Russia, militant leader killed
"police had found three explosive devices, each containing five kilograms of TNT"
http://en.rian.ru/russia/20060812/52553232.html
[AP] ITALY - Italian police arrest 40 In security crackdown after British terror plot thwarted
http://www.edmontonsun.com/News/World/2006/08/11/1749110.html
[AP] INDIA - U.S. Embassy in New Delhi warns of possible terror attacks in India
http://www.newspress.com/Top/Article/article.jsp?Sectionfiltered=WORLD&ID=564785678547026480
[ABC] AUSTRALIA - Suspicious substance found at Brisbane school
http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200608/s1712528.htm
[Xinhua] PHILIPPINES - Explosion hits southern Philippine city
http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/200608/10/eng20060810_291840.html
[ABC-CBN] PHILIPPINES - Military averts ASG bomb plot
"plans by the Abu Sayyaf to conduct bombings in the country were averted with the discovery of the biggest camp of the group in Jolo"
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/storypage.aspx?StoryId=47159
[The Freeman] PHILIPPINES - Grenade throws security scare during Arroyo visit to Cebu
http://www.philstar.com/philstar/Freeman200608131801.htm
[PTI] INDIA - Man moving in suspicious circumstances in South Delhi detained
http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/218200608111755.htm
[Siber News] SRI LANKA - Tiger aircraft rockets Palaly base, curfew in Jaffna
"At least one unidentified aircraft flew over the Sri Lankan military base at Palaly firing rockets at around 9.30 p.m. Friday"
http://www.sibernews.com/the-news/sri-lanka/tiger-aircraft-rockets-palaly-base,-curfew-in-jaffna-200608114974/
[AP] PAKISTAN - Bomb damages gas pipeline in Pakistan
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/1104AP_Pakistan_Pipeline_Attacked.html
[Times News Network] INDIA - 1 killed, six hurt in Ulfa attack
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1889171.cms
[Reuters] BANGLADESH - Bangladesh detains seven militants
"following intelligence tips that the group, Hizbul Tawhid, was trying to set up a militant network in south-eastern areas of the country"
http://www.thepeninsulaqatar.com/Display_news.asp?sectionfiltered=World_News&subsectionfiltered=Philippines+%26+South+Asia&month=August2006&file=World_News2006081323954.xml
[Mens News Daily] IRAN - Beware the 22nd of August; Iranian mad hatters may be up to something
http://mensnewsdaily.com/2006/08/11/beware-the-22nd-of-august-iranian-mad-hatters-may-be-up-to-something/
[Xinhua] IRAN - Iran will continue nuclear work "to the maximum scope:" ambassador
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2006-08/10/content_4947361.htm
[Reuters] IRAQ - Security incidents in Iraq, Aug 12
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/BUL233246.htm
[Reuters] IRAQ - Security incidents in Iraq, Aug 13
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L1357218.htm
[MosNews] RUSSIA - Home-Made Bomb Thrown into Synagogue in Russian Khabarovsk
http://mosnews.com/news/2006/08/13/khabarsyn.shtml
[Sunday Times] UNITED KINGDOM - Britain's Al-Qaeda leader seized
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2087-2310645,00.html
[Bangkok Post] THAILAND - Insurgent bomb kills two, injures 11
http://www.bangkokpost.com/breaking_news/breakingnews.php?id=112189
[Xinhua] PAKISTAN - Bomb blast kills woman in SW Pakistan hospital
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2006-08/13/content_4956687.htm
[Reuters] TURKEY - Turkish police say Kurd separatists kills 2 officers
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L13917626.htm
[Reuters] SRI LANKA - Bomb hits Sri Lanka military convoy in capital
http://in.today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=topNews&storyID=2006-08-14T135026Z_01_NOOTR_RTRJONC_0_India-263534-1.xml
[Kathimerini] GREECE - Explosives left with trash in city dumpster
http://www.ekathimerini.com/4dcgi/_w_articles_politics_100020_14/08/2006_73146
Terrorists torch parts of Spain
http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,3764574a12,00.html
Spain's fire terrorists torch parts of Galicia
The scene after fire raged through a forest near Vimianzo in A Coruna
province on the weekend. Unemployed firefighters, pyromaniacs,
criminals and
land feuds have been blamed for the blazes.
The scene after fire raged through a forest near Vimianzo in A Coruna
province on the weekend. Unemployed firefighters, pyromaniacs,
criminals and
land feuds have been blamed for the blazes.
Photo: AFP
Adrid
August 14, 2006
The AGE
FOREST fires ravaging Spain's north-west region of Galicia are finally
showing signs of abating, as a 70-year-old man became the fourth person
to
die after nine days of mostly deliberately set blazes.
Organised gangs are blamed for hundreds of fires that have swept across
parched woodland, making residents evacuate and sending tourists
fleeing
from Galicia's rolling hills and sea inlets.
Spain sent 400 paratroopers to Galicia to protect airports, power
stations
and other "essential areas" from arsonists described by the Government
as
"fire terrorists".
Authorities said they had detained 24 people, ranging from a part-time
firefighter to a 90-year-old man, suspected of starting blazes.
"Those arrested are people who knew exactly what they were doing, knew
they
were committing crimes and went up into the hills to start fires,
sometimes
more than once," said Perez Tourino, president of Galicia's regional
Government.
About 30 blazes burnt out of control in Galicia on the weekend, down
from 93
late last week,
A total of 7000 personnel and nearly 60 aircraft from Spain, Portugal,
France and Morocco are fighting fires that have burnt more than 25,000
hectares of woodland.
They were reinforced by 2000 troops in what was the Spanish army's
biggest
ever fire-fighting operation.
Santiago de Compostela, a destination for thousands of pilgrims, has
been
threatened by fires in nearby woodland sending palls of smoke across
the
cathedral city.
REUTERS
U.S. Radical gangs, includes several and has info we may not have read before.
http://jamestown.org/terrorism/news/article.php?articleid=2370101
http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/terror-case-judge-allows-ak47-photos/
2006/08/14/1155407716942.html
Terror case judge allows AK-47 photos
Ian Munro
August 14, 2006 - 1:26PM
The AGE
Aimen Joud, left, with beard with an unidentified man.
Aimen Joud, left, with beard with an unidentified man.
A barrister acting for Aimen Joud, one of the alleged members of a
Melbourne
terrorist cell, has failed in a bid to have two photographs of Joud
holding
a military-style weapon excluded from the case against him.
The pictures were mailed anonymously to the Australian Federal Police
and
depict Joud holding what appears to be an AK-47, facing the camera with
another man.
Paul Marin, for Joud, said the photographs should not be admitted as
part of
the prosecution case because it was not known who took them or in what
circumstances they were taken.
Because they were supplied anonymously, it was difficult to see how the
circumstances of the photographs could ever be explained, he said.
"We are talking about a man in battledress with an AK-47 and there is
no
basis on which they can be tendered (to the court)," Mr Marin said.
"These
photographs do not have any particular relevance."
The court heard that a search of Joud's home uncovered a loaded
45-calibre
pistol, ammunition, and a tactical vest.
Magistrate Paul Smith said that while it was unclear who took the
photographs, or whether they had been tampered with, or even if the
weapon
was genuine, he admitted them into evidence after considering the other
items found in Joud's possession.
Joud, 21, is charged with six terrorism offences, including being a
member
of a terrorism organisation, providing support to al-Qaeda, and making
funds
available for a terrorist organisation.
theage.com.au
Nerve-gas guru tests Japan legal system
MLive.com - MI,USA
... the daughter of Japan's most hated man — something like Osama bin
Laden to Americans ... their reasons: They feared Asahara might try to
pass messages to followers ...
http://www.mlive.com/newsflash/international/index.ssf?/base/international-17/1155482950275170.xml&storylist=international
See all stories on this topic:
http://news.google.com/news?ie=utf8&oe=utf8&persist=1&hl=en&client=google&ncl=http://www.mlive.com/newsflash/international/index.ssf%3F/base/international-17/1155482950275170.xml%26storylist%3Dinternational
The Terrorism How-To Books
July 21, 2006: Counter-terrorist efforts on the Internet have, in the
past
year, shifted to the offensive. This is especially true for sites that
provide access to terrorist training materials. It's not true that once
something is "out there on the net", efforts to suppress it are futile.
If
you knock down lots of sites hosting certain documents, a lot of people
who
might want those materials, will not be able to obtain them. There are
dozens of documents that apprentice terrorists want to get their hands
on,
but three of them are particularly useful for budding killers.
First, there is the "Great Jihad Encyclopedia," which is neither an
encyclopedia, nor does it have much to do with terrorism. What makes
this 70
page document dangerous is that is instructs its readers on how to run
a
secret organization, and not get caught by the police or
counter-terrorism
agencies. Not paying attention to the "Great Jihad Encyclopedia," or
similar
sources of security wisdom, is the single most common error made by
Islamic
terrorists. While the advice given by the Encyclopedia is pretty basic,
it
has the advantage of being written in Arabic, and in a style that most
young
jihadis (terrorists) can understand. Whether they will pay attention is
another matter.
To deal with the likelihood of getting caught, there is another
important
document. Actually there are several. One that is clearly labeled is,
"How
to Confront and Cope with Intelligence Agency Interrogators" Again,
written
in Arabic, in a style some semi-literate fellow (the type most likely
to
talk if caught) can understand. These documents tell the prospective
prisoner what to expect, and how best to respond. Most of this is
variations
on "keep cool and keep your mouth shut." But some more positive advise
is
given. For example, prisoners are told to, at some point, tell their
interrogator that, eventually the interrogator will be out of the
interrogation business. And at that point, the jihadis will come
looking for
him. The jihadis are also reminded that the effete Western infidels
tend to
eventually let jihadis out of prison, or at least to have contact with
lawyers and such. Thus the jihadi threat of retaliation has some basis
in
fact. Pro-jihadi groups in the West can be depended on to eventually
get the
names of interrogators, and put them out on the Internet. So the threat
of
eventual retribution is not hollow, and pointing it out if meant to
give
encouragement to jihadis fearful of eventual capture.
Finally, we have one of the scariest terrorist strategy manuals out
there;
"The Management of Savagery." This document, which is written is
slightly
grander Arabic, is meant for jihadi leaders. It basically points out
what
has worked in places like Afghanistan, Iran, Sudan and Algeria (places
where
Islamic radicals have taken over, or come close to doing so.) The basic
strategy is to find Islamic countries with weak governments, go in
there and
kill lots of people, make lots of terror, and weaken the government as
much
as possible. Then, when there is chaos all about, the jihadis move in,
restore order and take over. How's that for truth in packaging. "The
Management of Savagery" is also meant to make it clear to jihadis why
they
have to be so savage, and to reassure them that God approves.
Many technical documents, such as instructions on how to make
explosives and
build bombs, also exist in Arabic. Fortunately, some of the
translations are
faulty, which results in deadly accidents when some jihadis are
building
their bombs. Many jihadis believe that the CIA is going around and
posting
purposely incorrect versions of these documents. Actually, that's an
old
trick in the espionage and counter-terrorism business, and the CIA
probably
does do it. But it's also true that even without bad translations,
English
language "how to" works, like the "Anarchists Cookbook," contain
potentially
disastrous errors.
While all these documents are already out there, counter-terrorism
organization have found, via interrogations and monitoring the
Internet,
that making these documents less available, leads to fewer terrorists.
Just
like eliminating the al Qaeda training facilities in Afghanistan did in
late
2001.
http://www.strategypage.com/htmw/htiw/articles/20060721.aspx
http://www.strategypage.com/htmw/htiw/articles/20060721.aspx
[a post for study and research]
Software Used To Track Terrorist, Mafia Funding
J. Bonasia
39 minutes ago
Israel's recent rocket strikes in Lebanon are aimed at smashing
Hezbollah's
weapons and supplies. But such attacks might not have a lasting impact
unless the terrorists' funding sources are shut down.
In March, the Treasury Department forbade U.S. banks from dealing with
the
Syrian Lebanese Commercial Bank, an arm of the Commercial Bank of
Syria. The
agency deemed the bank "a primary money laundering concern" that used
funds
from the illicit sale of Iraqi oil to finance Hezbollah.
Late last year, the U.S. also alleged that North Korea laundered money
through a bank in Macau. Earlier this decade, a naturalized U.S.
citizen who
disguised the transfer of $4 million to Iran in 2001 and 2002 pleaded
guilty
to crimes.
Clearly, terrorists are using advanced money-laundering techniques to
mask
their financial sources.
That makes software used to thwart such crimes more important than
ever,
says John Byrne, senior vice president of anti-money laundering, or
AML,
strategies at Bank of America (NYSE:BAC - News). He co-chairs a
committee of
the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, or FinCEN, that oversees AML
efforts under the USA Patriot Act.
Risk Mitigation, Not Elimination
"For a long time, the banking industry has had systems to detect
suspicious
activities, mostly by organized crime cartels," Byrne said. "That focus
has
changed to terrorism."
Money laundering involves the movement, or layering, of funds through
various investments and transactions.
The goal is to hide the origin of the funding, which can be hard to
detect,
admits Byrne.
"Financial institutions are so large and varied that they can't capture
everything," he said. "At the end of the day, this is really about risk
mitigation, not risk elimination."
Banks use AML software to monitor and analyze transactions. Such
software
picks up uncommon banking patterns.
It can spot wire transfers from terror hot spots and flag high
transaction
volumes or structured deposits.
These latter deposits are structured to fall below the $10,000 level,
which
triggers a mandatory report from banks to regulators.
Suspicious activity reports are then reviewed by FinCEN, a unit of the
U.S.
Treasury.
Bank of America has built its own software that it uses to assign risk
ratings for each client. Ratings are based on a client's occupation or
business, account size, types of banking services and locations.
Last month, software maker Hummingbird (NASDAQ:HUMC - News) teamed with
defense contractor L-3 Communications (NYSE:LLL - News) to market an
AML
software suite. The system assigns priorities for client risks, says
Therese
Harris, Hummingbird solutions manager.
"Customer transactions are always monitored, but more so if they
present
higher risks," she said. "The criminals are getting smarter, so
regulators
need to be more careful."
Trained human experts are needed to connect all the dots. But banks and
security experts rely on AML software to spot trends, says David
Stewart,
head of AML for software maker SAS Institute. There's no way people can
track so many records, says Stewart.
"Physically, you can't pore over all the data fast enough," he said.
"But
this technology has the sheer ability to pore through all of it for
you."
SAS software checks more than $1 billion in customer banking
transactions
each night. The system looks for 15 basic checkpoints around money
laundering, such as patterns related to structuring.
Seeks Oddities, Patterns
For instance, the software looks for deposits that recur in round
dollar
amounts or in similar dollar amounts. The system can also identify the
patterns of known bad accounts that don't follow standard
money-laundering
paths.
"Whatever we've stumbled upon, we can look at that account history to
spit
out other customers who are behaving similarly," Stewart said.
Due to the growing attention from banks, terrorists and criminals have
sought new ways to hide their funding sources.
That's why no cash-intensive field is immune from scrutiny. Insurance
firms,
stock traders, pawnbrokers, precious metal dealers and casino operators
must
file suspicious activity reports. That's the law under the Bank Secrecy
Act
of 2005.
Experts say money laundering by terrorists is much harder to spot than
by
crime syndicates. Terrorists usually deal in much smaller dollar
amounts.
Also, most career criminals want to quickly recoup their earnings after
they
launder the cash. That results in a circular cycle.
Terrorists take a more linear approach. They tend to direct the money
toward
the funding of violent acts. They don't recycle it back to pay for
lavish
lifestyles, explains Jim Wills, AML manager at Fortent, a startup maker
of
risk management software. Its investors include private equity firm
Warburg
Pincus.
Tracking Halawa
"There are not the same expectations for terrorists as for crime
rings,"
Wills said. "Terrorism is not so much a business as an ideology.
Someone
with a cause needs some money."
Some terrorists have even resorted to an ancient method of remittance
called
Halawa. Under this trust-based system, third parties charge fees to
exchange
the funds secretly, thus eluding authorities.
In the past, banks zeroed in on financing from some Islamic nonprofits
and
nongovernmental organizations.
The terrorists quickly caught on. Many transferred money elsewhere.
Some
have even resorted to credit card fraud or other crimes to finance
their
plots, says Wills.
"Most people think of money laundering as one big hoax pulled off all
at
once," he said. "Actually, it involves lots of small events that occur
and
reoccur, with many subtle changes over time."
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ibd/20060728/bs_ibd_ibd/2006728tech&printer=1;_ylt=
Agc88Xde1X5q7YLE6SPk7LegfbcF;_ylu=X3oDMTA3MXN1bHE0BHNlYwN0bWE
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ibd/20060728/bs_ibd_ibd/2006728tech&printer=1;_ylt=A
gc88Xde1X5q7YLE6SPk7LegfbcF;_ylu=X3oDMTA3MXN1bHE0BHNlYwN0bWE-
_____
{I knew the proof would come someday, for all the googling that i have done, they have found an empty on in Spain, it did not have people or drugs.
Makes me want to ask if it was for jihadi?
This makes me sure that I am correct.....
http://www.google.com/search?q=Drug+smugglers+may+be+using+submarines&client=netscape-pp&rls=com.netscape:en-US
This is the very end of the article
granny}
Spain's rugged northwestern coast, with difficult-to-patrol coves and
bays,
is a major entry point for Colombian cocaine into Europe.
Although the Galicia Civil Guard have never seized a smugglers'
submarine
before, traffickers have been known to use submersible craft elsewhere
to
ferry cocaine between shore and mother ship.
In 2000, Colombian police found a 100-foot-long submarine with the
capacity
to carry up to 200 tons of cocaine worth billions of dollars still
under
construction in the Andes mountains near Bogota.
Copyright 2006 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or
redistribution of Reuters content is expressly prohibited without the
prior
written consent of Reuters.
URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14342430/
C 2006 MSNBC.com
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14342430/
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14342430/
http://www.smh.com.au/news/World/Power-outages-hit-large-areas-of-Tokyo/2006/08/14/1155407703530.html
Tokyo has a large electric outage, unknown cause, possible that a crane hit the line.
People stuck in elevators, etc.
Stock market unable to work.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/World/Power-outages-hit-large-areas-of-Tokyo/2006/08/14/1155407703530.html
Electric is out in Tokyo, to a large area.
Unknown cause, possible the line was hit with a crane.
People stuck in elevators, etc.
Stock market unable to open.
http://www.jihadwatch.org/archives/2006/08/012675print.html
Iran issues nuclear warning to West
Iran will not succumb to threats, but it won't hesitate to issue its own. From Iran Focus, with thanks to Mackie:
Tehran, Iran, Aug. 14 – Iran issued a stark warning on Sunday that it would change its nuclear policy for the worse if the West continued to apply pressure on it to abandon uranium enrichment.
“Naturally, if Europe goes down the wrong path, we will definitely change our path and act proportionately”, Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid-Reza Asefi told reporters during his weekly press conference. His remarks were reported in the state-run news agency ISNA....
“The Islamic Republic will not succumb to the language of fear and threats”, Asefi said.
Posted at August 14, 2006 11:25 AM
http://www.jihadwatch.org/archives/2006/08/012674print.html
August 14, 2006
All Missing Egyptian Students in Custody
These missing Egyptian students were no terror threat, we were told, but nevertheless there was a nationwide alert for them. From AP, with thanks to Mike:
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The last two of the 11 Egyptian exchange students who failed to show up at their college program were apprehended Sunday in Richmond, Va., customs officials said.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents arrested Mohamed Saleh Ahmed Maray, 20, and Mohamed Ibrahim Fouaad El Shenawy, 17, at an apartment building in Richmond on Sunday night. Virginia State Police and the Richmond Police helped locate the students.
Last Wednesday, one of the Egyptian students was arrested in Minneapolis and two were detained in Manville, N.J. On Thursday, two were arrested in Dundalk, Md., and one was arrested at O'Hare International Airport in Chicago. Three more were arrested Friday in Des Moines, Iowa.
Posted at August 14, 2006 10:56 AM
Close Window
http://www.jihadwatch.org/archives/2006/08/012672print.html
The Unalienable Right blog (thanks to the Constantinopolitan Irredentist) makes an important point by comparing a story from the Washington Post to one from the Telegraph:
From the Washington Post:
Young Muslim Rage Takes Root in Britain Unemployment, Foreign Policy Fuel Extremism
"...Britain has become an incubator for violent Islamic extremism, fueled by disenchantment at home and growing rage about events abroad, including the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan."
....
In one of Europe's largest Muslim communities, young men face a lack of jobs, poor educational achievement and discrimination in a highly class-oriented culture. Prime Minister Tony Blair is the most outspoken ally of President Bush, and their policies in Iraq and Afghanistan are seen by many Muslims as aimed at Islam.
But from the UK Telegraph, contrast the article headlined "University students at centre of terror plots":
The recruitment of Muslim students at British universities to take part in terrorist attacks is at the heart of the alleged plot to blow up passenger jets, it is feared.
A dossier of extremist Islamic literature has been uncovered by The Sunday Telegraph on the campus of a north London university, one of whose students has suspected links to the alleged terrorist attack.
Waheed Zaman, 22, a bio-chemistry student and the president of the Islamic Society at London Metropolitan University, was one of 24 people arrested last week. Material found at two portable buildings used by the society includes documents advocating jihad and a pamphlet on how to deal with approaches from the security services.
....
Extremist Muslim groups had been detected at more than 20 institutions, both former polytechnics and long-established universities, over the past 15 years, Prof Glees said.
....
According to security sources, "several" of the 23 people still in custody over the alleged plot last week are suspected of links to universities, appearing to confirm growing fears that campuses are providing Britain's biggest security threat.
So which is it? Are they poor and uneducated, or relatively well-off university students? As the Unalienable Right blog goes on to point out, the Post is simply repeating the old poverty-causes-jihad myth, and if the facts are otherwise, so much the worse for the facts.
Posted at August 14, 2006 09:44 AM
http://www.jihadwatch.org/archives/2006/08/012671print.html
August 14, 2006
Welsh Muslims say aircraft bomb plot 'a fake'
Displacement Of Responsibility Alert: "Welsh muslims say aircraft bomb plot 'a fake,'" from icWales, with thanks to Nooze:
YOUNG Welsh Muslims have accused the Government of master-minding this week's plot to blow up transatlantic jets mid-air to justify Tony Blair's war on terror.
Some followers of Islam have claimed the arrest of more than 20 people on suspicion of scheming to kill thousands of passengers travelling to America using liquid explosives is designed to bolster the Prime Minister's flagging credibility over the Iraq and Lebanon-Israel crises.
Speaking to Wales On Sunday last night, members of the Cathays Dar-ul-Isra Muslim Community Centre in Cardiff said it was a ploy to reinforce Mr Blair's alliance with US President George W Bush, who waged war on Saddam Hussein on a discredited claim that Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction.
"I believe this so-called plot is all a fabrication aimed at covering up the actions of George Bush and Tony Blair," said Abdul Ullah, 26. "Sadly, people will believe whatever they are told these days."
Dr Sam Ben, 29, added: "As far as I can make out, people have been arrested but none have been charged with anything or were caught at the scene of any crime. I believe the whole operation has been a smoke-screen."
I look forward to Muslim spokesmen like Akbar Ahmed rebuking Ullah and Ben and exhorting the British Muslim community to take responsibility for nurturing "extremists."
Posted at August 14, 2006 09:25 AM
From:
http://www.dutchsubmarines.com/news/news_2002.htm
Walrus(2) Spying on the Irania Navy
21 Nov 2002
Radio Netherlands In an interview with Radio Netherlands Secretary of State for Defence Van der Knaap stated that the Walrus (2) is gathering information on the Iranian Navy, as requested by the USA.
Dutch sub on drugs hunt
Helderse Courant
&
E.T. The Dutch Navy will deploy a submarine in the Caribbean as an answer to the increasing drugs trafficking in the area. There are rumours that the smugglers even using small submarines to transport the goods. This task will probably be performed by Zeeleeuw (2). She will probably sail for the Netherlands Antilles and Aruba sometime in March.
Zeeleeuw(2) hunts for drugs smugglers
Heldersche Courant
12 June 2002 Zeeleeuw (2) is currently used to prevent drugs trafficking in the Caribbean. The submarine surface off Willemstad (Curaçao) last Monday. The crew will spend a few day on the island and will support several charities.
Zeeleeuw(2)'s presence in the area is part of Operation Enduring Freedom. She has relieved USN units that are needed elsewhere in the 'War Against Terrorism'.
http://www.observerindia.com/analysis/A403.htm
Mini Submarine-A Vessel of Choice with Drug Cartels and Terrorists
Vijay Sakhuja
Following a tip off, the Colombian Police have chanced upon an indigenously built mini submarine in the port of Tumaco, near the Colombian border with Ecuador. Reportedly, the vessel can carry up to 10 tonnes of cocaine valued at about $US200 million in the international market. According to Eduardo Fernandez, head of the Administrative Security Department (DAS), a detective force, “They started building the submarine about six months ago, using small pieces so as not to make people suspicious. They wanted to have it ready for Easter because they thought the police would drop their guard”.
This is the third time that the Colombian Police have discovered a mini submarine in the country. Earlier, in 1995, a relatively unsophisticated mini-submarine to transport drugs had been discovered. But in 2000, a similar vessel was confiscated in a mountain workshop in Facatativa just 18 miles west of Bogota, Facatativa is a rural town and is roughly 7,500 feet above sea level in Andean region. The mini submarine had hydraulic tubing, a protected propeller, a double hull and diving rudders that would allow it to dive to 325 feet. The vessel could carry 11 tons of cargo. The discovery had stunned both the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and the Colombian police who noted that in the past drug cartels had used high-speed boats and low-flying planes to smuggle cocaine. This was indeed a huge leap.
What was perhaps the most disturbing aspect of the find was that Russian-language manuals with Spanish translations were recovered. In 1997, Colombian gangs had been suspected of trying to buy a diesel-powered Russian submarine. Highly professional Russian engineers may have also been helping to build the submarine.
Similarly, the LTTE attempts to build a mini submarine in Phuket, Thailand were uncovered. In April 2000, Christie Reginald Lawrence, a Sri Lankan born Norwegian citizen, was caught by the police, while building a mini submarine with a Norwegian Engine at the Sea Craft Company a shipyard jointly owned by Lawrence, a Thai and an American national.
With the discovery of a mini submarine under construction at the Sea Craft Company yet another small submarine construction was sighted in the waters off Koh Hey Island, south of Phuket's Chalong Village. Chalong police found not one, but three mini submarines at a boatyard in Moo, Rawai Village. The boatyard Sea Station Partnership is owned by Sithichai Wonsrivijit alias Go Chai. Go Chai also runs a diving and snorkeling business at Koh Hey and claims to be an inventor. He invented a helmet for sea walking and had completed building his latest invention.
Phuket has also served as an important base for LTTE arms procurement and smuggling. For instance, in February 1996 M V Horizon and M V Comex Jules were destroyed by the Sri Lankan Air Force as the vessels were believed to have onboard a huge consignment of arms that originated in Cambodia and were loaded at Phuket.
Reportedly, in June 1999, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) had made enquires with North Korea for a possible sale of a mini submarine. A brochure describing a mini submarine ‘ 45-foot long with the capacity to carry six persons, including two divers … designed for special operations with a good tactical range and a low noise level’ was found. North Korea has sold more than 10,000 automatic rifles and other arms to the MILF. In early 2003, Philippines forces had discovered some documentation from the MILF camp, which suggested that the MILF was considering purchasing underwater scooters from Scandinavia.
These developments are a clear indicator that both the terrorists and drug cartels are employing similar tools for their operations. Their focus now appears to shift to underwater capability. This raises two issues: First availability and cost of underwater vehicles and second their crew and operations.
As regards availability, these are constructed by using commercially available off-the-shelf technology equipment. According to Dr. Giunio Santi, a naval architect, “a modified underwater barge can support two mini-subs for six months at sea. The barges and all other support equipment are commercially available and are not considered to be weapons, so that any country - including those restricted in their arms purchasing capabilities - can buy them without the supplying company filing purchase notification statements.” The cost of a personal mini submarine can range from several hundred thousand dollars to tens of Millions of dollars depending on the size. As far as crew is concerned, it is not difficult to train. All they need is good deep-sea diving training and basic engineering knowledge of batteries and underwater propulsion.
Some of the above incidents have prompted the US navy to start training on conventional submarines. On October 28, 2004 the Swedish government accepted a U.S. Navy proposal to lease an AIP-equipped submarine and its crew of 25 for anti-submarine warfare training, which begin in 2005. Post Cold War, the US has witnessed a marked decrease in anti submarine warfare training including those in shallow waters and close to the coastline. These sea spaces are described as littorals and constitute crowded waters like the mouth of ports and harbours as also entry and exit points of strategic choke points like the straits of Hormuz and straits of Malacca.
Since the early 1990s, the strategic literature on naval strategy introduced the concept of ‘littoral warfare’. Although the term ‘littoral’ is not new, it gained great significance in US military literature primarily due to the fact that littoral spaces are considered congested due to dense shipping activity, civilian air corridors and shallow waters which can result in projection of power in the littorals, a potentially challenging exercise. These sea spaces are also infested with activities of non-state actors who engage in terrorism, piracy, gunrunning and drug smuggling. Besides, the underwater environment is complex due to underwater noise generated by the immense traffic that can be an impediment for an optimal performance of even the most advanced sonar systems.
Major General Mike Myatt, former Director of US Expeditionary Warfare, coined the term “chaos in the littorals”. General Myatt’s hypothesis is that most future conflicts would take place in the littoral. He argued that littorals provide a home to most of the world population, wealth and industrial capacity and the nerve center of international relations through which people, goods, ideas and cultures pass. “Conurbations such as Lagos, Cape Town, Karachi and Manila lie in the littorals; besides being the hub of maritime trade activity were also centers for disorder.”
Unfortunately General Myatt’s prediction has come true. “Chaos in the littorals” is a reality and the world’s coastal areas have become more chaotic. In this chaos, the role of non-state actors in intra-state and inter-state violence is increasingly becoming a matter of great concern. These entities are grouped under various categories like liberation army, insurgents, belligerents etc. Several types of non-state actors have now acquired the status of international actors like the Al Qaeda and the LTTE. The results can be seen in South Asia, particularly in Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka and South East Asia in Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and the Philippines.
The terrorists have developed sophisticated tactics that entail attacking ships both in harbor and at sea. Improvised explosive devices, submersibles, mini submarines and high-speed boats are weapons of choice. Off the shelf communication equipment and water sport/diving equipment are part of their inventories. In the absence of technological superiority over a stronger military, these groups have adopted asymmetric strategies and options to challenge maritime forces and inflict unacceptable costs. The asymmetric tactics and strategies adopted by terrorists and drug cartels will continue to challenge maritime forces.
The author is Research Fellow, Observer Research Foundation, New Delhi.
Courtesy: South Asia Analysis Group, New Delhi, Paper no. 1312, March 30, 2005.
* Views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Observer Research Foundation.
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Center for Arms Control, Energy and Environmental Studies at MIPT
Preventing Submarine Collisions
Answers to the questions of U.S. nationwide policy debaters
Updated August 21, 2003
The 98-99 United States nationwide policy debate topic was the state of U.S. foreign policy towards Russia. The resolution stated, that this policy should be substantially changed. One of the issues widely discussed has been continuing Cold War practice of trailing of Russian submarines. Attached are Eugene Miasnikov's answers to the most frequently asked questions of debaters.
Beginning
Part 2 (continued).
http://www.armscontrol.ru/subs/collisions/debates1.htm
MONDAY, MARCH 28, 2005
Bullet Cocaine-Smuggling Submarine Seized in Colombia
Colombia's government scored another victory against drug traffickers when their police forces seized a homemade submarine designed to transport drugs to the United States.
See an Associated Press photo of the submarine.
According to a Reuters report:
"Colombian police found a homemade submarine capable of carrying $200 million worth of cocaine on a Pacific Ocean smuggling mission, police said Friday.
Police, who acted on a tip, made no arrests after finding the submarine hidden in the port of Tumaco, near the border with Ecuador, the Administrative Security Department detective force said.
It was the second publicized case of Colombian drug smugglers trying to use submarines. In 2000, another underwater vessel was found far from the coast in the Andean mountain capital, Bogota.
"They started building the submarine about six months ago, using small pieces so as not to make people suspicious. They wanted to have it ready for Easter because they thought the police would drop their guard," said Eduardo Fernandez, head of the DAS in the southern province of Valle del Cauca."
Read the whole story.
http://www.pushingback.com/archives/05mar.html
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