Threat Matrix: December 2006

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[nwctwx]

Fighting Jihad in Cyberspace
-Full Story-

The setting is familiar to anyone who watches the evening news. A large, executive-style desk, a laptop perched on top, a logo in the background and a screen showing shifting images to reinforce the newsreader's message. The only difference is the presenter, who is swathed in an Arab headdress and masked to hide his identity, and the subject of the broadcast, a call for an Islamic state for Iraq and a vow to use Iraq as a launching pad to crush the "Zionists" in Israel.

Welcome to the "Voice of the Caliphate", the latest offering from the Global Islamic Media Front, widely regarded as the mouthpiece of al-Qaeda and the worldwide jihadist movement.

Distributed over the internet, the mock news format is just one of many employed by al-Qaeda's highly sophisticated propaganda arm.

	Mystery Surrounds Zawahri’s Silence
	HizbAllah Offensive in Lebanon: Day One
	Significant Terrorist Incidents, 1961-2003: A Brief Chronology

Thread Forty-Three

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[Cindy]

Recap with snippets:

http://counterterrorismblog.org/2006/12/us_investigations_lead_to_arre.php

"U.S. Investigations Lead to Arrests in Gemayel Assassination Case"
By Andrew Cochran


ARTICLE SNIPPET: "The following article appeared in the "Alsyassa" newspaper in Lebanon last week and has been translated to English by a friend and highly reliable source. The article points to investigations in the U.S. which led to the arrests of Syrian-allied suspects in Lebanon:

"The investigation into the assassination of Pierre Gemayel led to the detection and seizure of weapons and explosives detonators and the arrest of seven of the Beirut-Syrian nationalists"


ARTICLE SNIPPET #2: "Informed sources declared to al-Seyassah that, before 15 days, the National Security in the United States investigated Halim Hardan, student at the University of St. Louis, son of current MP Assaad Hardan, former minister and leading member of the Syrian Nationalist Party and the Canadian authorities as well, carried out investigation with one Khudor Awarka, the official Syrian National Party in Canada. Further to that, investigations took place in the United States and Canada with a number of the "Free National Current" followers which is led by MP Michel Aoun. In the outcome of these investigations, information and confessions related to the case of the assassination of MP and Minister Pierre Gemayel, has been extracted and that the American and Canadian authorities these information to the Lebanese government that used in the investigation of the assassination, and reached an important thread task brought to give the orders to raid a number of houses and warehouses belonging to the elements in the Syrian National Party in the area of Koura in North Lebanon, yesterday."

(December 29, 2006, 09:55 am)

[Cindy]

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1747324/posts?page=1503#1503

===
===

Note: The following text is a quote:

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3346533,00.html

Iraqi forces detain 20 suspects in raids
Published: 12.31.06, 11:13

Iraqi forces backed by US troops detained 20 people in raids against insurgents suspected of manufacturing or planting bombs, the US military said Sunday.

In one raid Saturday near Habaniyah, 80 kilometers (50 miles) west of Baghdad, troops captured 15 people suspected of having ties to al-Qaeda in Iraq, the military said. (AP)

[Cindy]

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/keyword?k=antichristian

---

Note: The following post is a quote:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1760528/posts


Saudi Arabia Bars Bible-Bearing Flight Attendant
Arutz Sheva ^ | December 31, 2006 | Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu

Posted on 12/31/2006 1:30:49 AM PST by West Coast Conservative

A Bible-bearing Christian flight attendant has been barred by her British employer from flying to Saudi Arabia, where Christianity is illegal.

The flight attendant, who works for British Midland Airways (BMI), is "a committed Christian [who] likes to take her Bible, which was once her mother's, with her when she travels," according to journalist Claire Bergen, who added that the case will be brought to an industrial court.

The British Foreign Office backed the airline. "The importation and use of narcotics, alcohol, pork products and religious books, apart from the Quran (Koran), and artifacts are forbidden," it stated. The London Telegraph quoted a BMI official as saying, "We issue advice to all our staff and passengers that these are the guidelines. She is saying she wants to carry her Bible with her. We are saying we cannot start designing rules around individuals when we have several hundred members of staff. To take every personal preference into account would be impossible."

It is not the first time that religious practice of airline workers has been curtailed because of Saudi rules. A flight attendant working for British Airways (BA) was forbidden to visibly wear her cross on the route to Saudi Arabia.

Even Christmas trees are banned in the oil-rich kingdom, which claims to allow religious freedom. An Iowa woman wrote in a Kansas newspaper earlier this month about her experience in 2003. "Christianity was not allowed to be practiced," wrote Charlotte Brock Rady. "Shopping in the back alleys of Jeddah one night, we discovered a market that had hidden away upstairs in a dark room a small artificial Christmas tree and lights."

Another worker in the country reported that her tree was confiscated at the border.

Nevertheless, on a recent visit to Princeton University, Prince Turki al-Faisal declared, "Arab tradition and Muslim tradition is geared towards having an open mind. Muslim religion accepts Christianity and Judaism."

Last year, a Saudi Arabian court sentenced a teacher to 40 months in prison and 750 lashes for discussing the Bible and praising Jews, according to a Reuters News Agency report.

"He was charged with promoting a "dubious ideology, mocking religion, saying the Jews were right, discussing the Gospel and preventing students from leaving class to wash for prayer."

A report by the U.S. State Department criticized Saudi Arabia, saying religious freedoms "are denied to all but those who adhere to the state-sanctioned version of Sunni Islam."

[Cindy]

PERSECUTION.ORG
http://www.persecution.org

[Cindy]

http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/tw/tw_3072.html

Travel Warning
United States Department of State
Bureau of Consular Affairs
Washington, DC 20520

This information is current as of today, Sun Dec 31 2006 01:47:23 GMT-0800.

LEBANON

December 22, 2006

[Cindy]

http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/pa/pa_1161.html

PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENT

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Office of the Spokesman
This information is current as of today, Sun Dec 31 2006 01:48:10 GMT-0800.

Worldwide Caution

October 11, 2006

[Cindy]

Off Topic:

ASSIST NEWS SERVICE: "MAKING NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTIONS WORK!" by Phil Cooke (December 28, 2006)

[appalachian_dweller]

Woke this morning, walked the dogs, poured some coffee and then I saw this:

Four bombs go off in Bangkok
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1760544/posts

Last count was 7 bombs.

Stay Alert folks.

AD

[killjoy]

Four bombs go off in Bangkok http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1760544/posts

I am living in Bangkok and here is my take on the bombings.

IMHO, there is no doubt this was done by groups connected with the violence in the south of the country. There is no other rational explanation for it.

There have been other attacks in the past planned for Bangkok and Pattaya but they were called off because they were scared of the repercussions. Jemaah Islamiyah tried to get some of the Thai Muslims to do it around the time of the Bali bombings and they backed out.

I think this is a big gamble for them. It is either going to bring them a lot of converts or get them crushed. The Thai military is not going to stand for this, especially since they are currently in power, and they are going to come down very hard. Because of recent events, there were already additional troops heading down south. After this there will be more.

The ball is in the military's court now. They have to be very careful. If they come down too hard, the insurgency is going to gain a lot of strength (re: Iraq). If they don't come down hard enough, they are going to be seen as useless. I wouldn't want to be in charge right now.

[appalachian_dweller]

Thank you very much for the first hand info killjoy.

Please forgive my ignorance, but is there a large muslim population in Bangkok? This is muslim population concentrated close to where these bombings happened?

Any other first hand reports about the situation there would be greatly appreciated.

Stay safe killjoy. Be aware of your surroundings and have a good escape plan.

AD

[killjoy]

Please forgive my ignorance, but is there a large muslim population in Bangkok? This is muslim population concentrated close to where these bombings happened?

Some parts of Bangkok have Muslim areas, but the guys here are peaceful. I have never heard of any problems from them. The guys starting things are the ones in the south. The bombings were all around popular gathering spots. In general, they are quite far from the Muslim areas.

[appalachian_dweller]

Do you think the bombings were perpetrated by muslims? How much damage has been done? Are you okay? Do you expect more violence in your area?

You said the army was moving south, what you think they'll do?

[killjoy]

Do you think the bombings were perpetrated by muslims?

Yes, but it doesn't matter who did it. They will get blamed.

How much damage has been done? Are you okay? Do you expect more violence in your area?

Very little. All the devices have been very small. Where I am at is very safe. I am in the suburbs outside of the city where the fun is taking place.

There were three additional explosions after midnight (it is 1AM here now). Two of them right after midnight and another at about 12:30. These three were in crowded touristy areas. No word yet on casualties. These locations were officially closed down after the first bombings but still had people there. Could have been much worse.

You said the army was moving south, what you think they'll do?

I will know tomorrow. ;)

[appalachian_dweller]

Multiple, closely time attacks bear the fingerprint of AQ.

Do you think this was the work of AQ or some freelance terrorists?

Please keep us posted as you're able without putting yourself in harms way.

I'm about 70 miles due west of Washington DC. It's 1:10pm on 12/31/06 here. All's quiet and I hope it stays that way.

Saddam's hanging may trigger some attacks. Do you think the attacks there were triggered by it?

[killjoy]

Do you think this was the work of AQ or some freelance terrorists?

It is homegrown. The explosions are rank amature stuff compared with what AQ would have done.

Saddam's hanging may trigger some attacks. Do you think the attacks there were triggered by it?

Not at all. I doubt any of the guys involved even know who Saddam is/was.

[HipShot]

Welcome to the TM from an old troublemaking lurker.

I, too, get tired of the "must be the Amish" and "it's Bush's fault" posts. They are old, annoying, unimaginative, and they distinctly raise the noise threshold.

It's most likely that they are not meant to offend, however. For most of us the bombings in Thailand are an abstract; a two dimensional thing that's "not here", and humor in the face of danger is as much an american tradition as is defiance in the face of defeat.

For you, though, it is "here". It's in your home and among the people with whom you share life. One of your posts reflected that very thing, in that it wasn't necessary to say who did it, because "everyone knows who did it." That's the kind of self evidence that most of us here don't have. We need your perception.

Please forgive those of us that sometimes forget to put ourselves in your shoes before responding to you.

[appalachian_dweller]

Thank you VERY much for the insight killjoy. Again, please keep us posted as you are safely able to.

And welcome to the Threat Matrix! I appreciate your contributions.

Here in the US, some freelance attacks have been thwarted. Saw a report about a guy planning to attack a shopping mall just before Christmas.

We won't be able to stop all the attacks and as surely as I breathe, attack plans are being made and could possibly be operational. The LEOs won't confirm this as to not scare the sheeple. Best to be prepared.

AD

[HipShot]

"It is homegrown. The explosions are rank amature stuff compared with what AQ would have done."

Synchronized attacks followed by a delayed attack are things that they teach if I remember correctly. I may be confusing Hamas and AQ, but it's more likely that they've pooled their knowledge.

If they get away with this they'll only be emboldened to do more brutal things. What is the interim government going to do about it? Has there been a statement?

[killjoy]

Synchronized attacks followed by a delayed attack are things that they teach if I remember correctly. I may be confusing Hamas and AQ, but it's more likely that they've pooled their knowledge.

It is classic ambush tactics. It pre-dates both of those groups by quite a number of years.

What is the interim government going to do about it? Has there been a statement?

I don't think there has been a definitive statement yet. I am sure that will come soon. Probably tomorrow since it is night time here now.

[Oorang]

Thanks very much for the first hand reporting. Your input is appreciated killjoy.