Threat Matrix: February 2007

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[nwctwx]

How al-Qaida Fared in 2006
-Full Story-

In 2006, agents of al-Qaida, as well as those inspired by its ideology, continued their attacks. Violence in Iraq intensified, and Afghanistan saw its bloodiest year since 2001.

Despite worsening chaos on those fronts, counterterrorist forces arrested and killed high-profile terrorists and kept the West free from attack. But these actions don't appear to have weakened the appeal of al-Qaida's agenda. "Home-grown" militants around the world joined its jihad, as regional fighting heightened perceptions of a global war on Islam.

Here's an assessment of some of the most significant gains and losses for al-Qaida last year: Read more..

	Azzam the American: The Making of an al Qaida Homegrown
	Islamic Cells of Revenge Joins the al Qaida Movement
	Most Dangerous Destinations 2007

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[Cindy]

UPDATE...

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3367622,00.html

"Kidnapped US women released in Nablus"
Published: 02.20.07, 19:26

[Godzilla]

IDF worried Hamas may have advanced anti-tank missiles" By Amos Harel, Haaretz Correspondent ARTICLE SNIPPET: "There are grave concerns among the defense establishment about the possibility that Hamas' military wing in the Gaza Strip is now in possession of Sagger anti-tank missiles.

News people don't realize that the sagger is a first generation anti-tank missile vintage 1970's. It is still a concern, but not like the real advanced ones the the Hezzies have in Lebanon.

[Cindy]

OPINION: Thanks Godzilla for the feedback.
Yep, whatever the latest greatest thing is -- is
whatever Iran gave to them.

[Cindy]

Note...Because jihadis really care and they show it! (/extreme sarcasm off).

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Note: The following text is a quote:

http://www.jihadwatch.org/archives/015361.php

February 21, 2007

Suicide bomber disguised as health worker wounds 3 in Afghanistan
Barbarism. "Suicide bomber targets Afghan hospital," by Amir Shah for Associated Press, with thanks to Jeffrey Imm:

KABUL, Afghanistan - A suicide attacker disguised as a health worker blew himself up at a hospital opening ceremony in eastern Afghanistan on Tuesday, wounding at least two NATO soldiers and a hospital staffer, the provincial governor said.
Afghan security forces had blocked the attacker from approaching a crowd of about 150 people who had gathered for a ribbon-cutting ceremony to open an emergency ward at the main government hospital in the city of Khost, said Gov. Arsalah Jamal.

U.S. troops who took the man away shot him in the leg when he tried to escape. As the crowd took cover, the attacker blew himself up, Jamal said.

Posted by Robert at February 21, 2007 10:21 AM

[Cindy]

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

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Note: The following text is a quote:

http://www.jihadwatch.org/archives/015363.php

February 21, 2007

Bulgaria busts two jihad sites calling for overthrow of the state
Bulgarian Jihad Update: "Bulgaria busts two radical Islamic Internet sites," from the FOCUS News Agency, with thanks to Twostellas:

Sofia.Bulgarian police said Tuesday they had arrested four people for publishing two Internet sites used to preach radical, violent Islam and call for the overthrow of the state, AFP reports. "The texts published on the sites are preaching the radical form of jihad, the holy war against all non-Muslims," the interior ministry said in a statement.
It said they were also urging "Muslims around the world to assist the war against the unbelievers physically, with money and weapons."

The sites also "propagated a change of the constitutional order in the country and its substitution for the so-called sharia state."

The two men and two women arrested were part of the "Union of Muslims in Bulgaria" founded in 2006.

Posted by Robert at February 21, 2007 10:45 AM

[Oorang]

2 Chicago-area men accused in Ohio terror case
February 21, 2007

Two cousins were arrested today on federal charges of conspiring to wage holy war against Americans overseas, including U.S. military forces in Iraq. Zubair A. Ahmed, 27, of North Chicago, and Khaleel Ahmed, 26, of Chicago, were accused along with three other men who already had been under indictment on charges of plotting acts of terrorism against Americans overseas.

The fresh indictment returned by a grand jury in Cleveland added the two Chicago-area men to the roster of defendants and brought additional charges against the three other men. The cousins, both American citizens, appeared briefly in Chicago before U.S. Magistrate Judge Geraldine Soat Brown, who ordered them sent to Ohio for arraignment. Prosecutors asked her to order them held in custody and sent to Ohio as federal prisoners. Defense attorneys asked for bail. A hearing on whether to permit bail was set for 2:30 p.m. Monday.

Defense attorneys Gerald Collins and Brian Sieve said they had just met the two defendants, knew little about them and had no comment on the case.

The indictment claims that, between June 2004 and February 2006, the cousins and the other three men — Mohammad Zaki Amawi, 27, and Marwan Othman El-Hindi, 42, both formerly of Toledo, and Wassim I. Mazloum, 22, formerly of Sylvania, Ohio — conspired to ''kill or maim persons in locations outside of the United States, to including U.S. armed forces personnel serving in Iraq.'' The conspiracy allegedly included finding fresh recruits to commit terrorist acts and seeking out sites for training in firearms, hand-to-hand combat and the use of explosives. The men also allegedly agreed to raise funds for ''jihad training'' and download Internet information on improvised explosive devices.

A shadowy figure was described in the indictment only as the Trainer, a U.S. citizen with a military background. The indictment said the two cousins met with the trainer in July 2004 and discussed sniper tactics, counter-surveillance techniques and the use of heavy machine guns.

Excerpted

http://www.dailysouthtown.com/news/266413,dst_terrorarrests_221.article

Undercover Border Policemen kill Jenin-area Islamic Jihad chief
21/02/2007

Undercover Border Police troops killed an Islamic Jihad commander in the West Bank town of Jenin on Wednesday, one day after a suicide bombing attempt he allegedly ordered was thwarted in Tel Aviv.

The slain man was identified as Mahmoud Abu Ubayed, 24, commander of Islamic Jihad in areas near Jenin. Witnesses said Abu Ubayed was driving his car near the Yihya Ayyash Square in Jenin when undercover troops in civilian clothing surprised him and sprayed the vehicle with bullets. The square was named for a Hamas bombing mastermind killed in an Israeli-ordered attack in 1996.

Excerpted

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/828670.html

[Oorang]

Blast causes panic in Quetta
February 21, 2007

LAHORE: A loud blast panicked citizens and rattled buildings in Quetta city on Tuesday, Aaj television reported. Police officials told the channel that that they had heard the explosion, but rain was hampering their efforts to find the blast site. Citizens telephoned the police saying the blast took place on Saryab Road, but police could not find any sign of an explosion there.

An ARY television correspondent said that according to his information, the blast was the sound of a rocket being fired.

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2007/02/21/story_21-2-2007_pg7_6

Morocco adds more names to al Qaeda wanted list
20 Feb 2007

RABAT - Moroccan police widened a search for suspected Islamic extremists on Tuesday, calling on citizens to help reveal the hiding places of two militants they say have links to al Qaeda, state news agency MAP reported. The appeal was the second of its kind in five days and came after a meeting of top officials last week to discuss tougher security measures amid growing fears of al Qaeda attacks.

"The Moroccan authorities ask all people with information or who know where these wanted men may be hiding to immediately inform the administrative authorities or security services," MAP cited the police as saying. The wanted suspects are Hmam Bilal et Bel Hachmi Mohamed Rida who are accused of having ties with groups including the Algeria-based al Qaeda Organisation in the Islamic Maghreb, MAP cited police sources as saying.

Excerpted

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L20313613.htm

[Oorang]

Fifth Fleet commander warns of 'unprecedented tension' in Gulf
Wednesday, February 21, 2007

ABU DHABI — Iran may pose a greater security threat to the strategic Persian Gulf than does Al Qaida, warned the U.S. Fifth Fleet commander at a news conference in Bahrain.

"We consider this moment in time unprecedented in terms of the amount of insecurity and instability that is in the region," U.S. Fifth Fleet commander Vice Adm. Patrick Walsh said. "Although our presence in the Arabian Gulf is for defensive and not offensive purposes, the U.S. will take military action if ships are attacked or if countries in the region are targeted or U.S. troops come under direct attack," Walsh added.

At a news conference on Feb. 19 in Manama, Walsh said Iran could pose a greater threat to Gulf security than Al Qaida, Middle East Newsline reported. The naval commander said Iran's frequent military exercises were meant to provoke tension in the region and threaten the closure of the Straits of Hormuz, which contains about 40 percent of global oil shipping.

"When you look at the recent Iranian exercises, in the last nine months, you see the open display and the implication of the use of mines," Walsh said. "You also see and hear concerns and threats about the closure of the Strait of Hormuz." "What is different today to a year ago has been the number of exercises and the proximity of those exercises to the Strait of Hormuz," Walsh said.

Excerpted

http://www.worldtribune.com/worldtribune/07/front2454153.0444444446.html

Indonesia: Radical Muslim Group Slams Anti-Terrorism Initiative

Jakarta, 21 Feb. 2007 - The Indonesian Mujahidin Council (MMI) a hardline group led by controversial Muslim cleric Abu Bakar Bashir - alleged by some to be the spiritual leader of the terror group Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) - has condemned an anti-terrorism initiative sponsored by several Islamic nations including Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Jordan. The plan, which tries to promote moderate Islam among the youth of those countries, is "part of an American project aimed at associating terrorism with Islam," MMI spokesperson Fauzan al-Anshori told Adnkronos International (AKI).

"What do they know about Jihad?" he added. "We should see the big picture (within which the initiative has been formulated). "This is part of a wider scenario that sees America scared of the rising power of Islam and implementing a carrot-and-stick strategy to fight Muslims." The MMI's objective is to promote the implementation in Indonesia.

The four nations involved in the initiative will promote a series of publications, organise conferences and share information aimed at promoting moderate Islam according to the director of Jarkarta's anti-terrorism bureau, Ansyaad Mbai. "The programme has been devised to improve the comprehension people have of true Islam," Mbai was quoted as saying by the Antara news agency. "At the moment, the terrorists are misinterpreting Islamic doctrine, for example, Jihad," he added.

http://www.adnki.com/index_2Level_English.php?cat=Security&loid=8.0.388705880&par=0

[Oorang]

Judge backs case against American "jihadist"
Wed Feb 21, 2007

HOUSTON - A U.S. judge on Wednesday ordered a suspected American "jihadist," accused of training with al Qaeda and conspiring to make and use bombs in Somalia, jailed without bail.

U.S. Magistrate Calvin Botley ruled prosecutors had presented sufficient evidence to support the charges against Daniel Joseph Maldonado, also known as Daniel Aljughaifi.

Excerpted

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070221/ts_nm/crime_somalia_texan_dc

[Cindy]

"...jailed without bail..."

Good.

[Cindy]

http://www.internet-haganah.com/harchives/005919.html

20 February 2007
"Jihadis happy with US House of Representatives"

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http://www.defenselink.mil/news/NewsArticle.aspx?ID=3123

"Cheney: Terrorists See Breaking America’s Will as Road to Victory"

By John D. Banusiewicz
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Feb. 21, 2007

===
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http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/setting-record-straight/index.html


http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2007/02/20070221-8.html

For Immediate Release
February 21, 2007

"Sen. Reid On British Transfer Of Basra Responsibilities To Iraqis
Setting the Record Straight"

===
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http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2007/02/20070208-8.html

For Immediate Release
February 8, 2007

"The Rest of the Story: Gen. Pace And Sec. Gates Discuss The Importance Of Congressional Support For Our Mission In Iraq"

[Cindy]

Thanks to Fair Opinion for the ping to this post.
Note: The following text is a quote:

---

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1788964/posts


Profile Of A Terrorist (Educated Muslims are more likely to be radicalized)
Investor's Business Daily ^ | Feb. 21, 2007 | IBD

Posted on 02/21/2007 7:18:53 PM PST by FairOpinion

Global Jihad: A new Gallup poll finds that richer, better-educated Muslims are more likely to be radicalized. This explodes the myth of the poor, dumb terrorist.

Since 9/11, the politically correct elite have mau-maued Americans into thinking the terrorists have hijacked a peaceful religion out of ignorance and poverty. Or that they've been brainwashed by Osama bin Laden.

But Gallup found the opposite to hold true: The most radical among Muslims — those who support jihad — earn more and stay in school longer. These are the smart ones, not the rubes.

Surely there must be some mistake. Perhaps Gallup's sample was too small. Actually, its surveys represent more than 90% of Muslims. They were carried out in 2006 and 2005 in 10 predominantly Muslim countries. About 10,000 Muslims were polled.

Statistics aside, there's plenty of anecdotal evidence to support the findings. Look at the backgrounds of some of the world's most notorious Muslim terrorists:

• Bin Laden, the son of a Saudi billionaire, studied engineering.

• His deputy Ayman al-Zawahri is an eye surgeon.

• Mohamed Atta, the son of a lawyer, earned a master's degree in urban planning.

• 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed graduated from an American college with an engineering degree.

Gallup's survey of Muslims, the largest conducted, puts to rest theories that radicals attack us because they're poor and alienated from society. Or because they're dim and easily misled.

Radical Muslims have an education and an economic future, yet they still hate. They're literate enough to interpret their holy books, yet they still embrace jihad against infidels.

Perhaps the only sane course in this war is to separate the West from Islam.

(Excerpt) Read more at investors.com ...

[Cindy]

http://www.washingtontimes.com/world/20070221-095859-4676r.htm

"Rice: Missile-defense criticism 'unfortunate'"
By Nicholas Kralev
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
February 22, 2007

The war of words between the United States and Russia over U.S. missile-defense plans in Central Europe escalated yesterday, with Western diplomats saying that Moscow's mistrust and suspicion of Washington -- and the West in general -- have changed little since the Cold War.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice rejected a threat by Gen. Nikolay Solovtsov, commander of Russia's strategic forces, against Poland and the Czech Republic as future hosts of a U.S. missile shield as "extremely unfortunate."

"I think it is unfortunate that the Russian head of strategic rocket forces would come out and say that somehow Poland and the Czech Republic would now be on the target list of Russia," Miss Rice said in Berlin yesterday.

Gen. Solovtsov's comments on Monday followed remarks by Russian President Vladimir Putin in Munich earlier this month, as well as by other Russian officials, lambasting U.S. foreign policy as destabilizing and threatening world peace and security."

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Note: The following text is a quote:

http://off-topic.internet-haganah.com/archives/000856.html

February 21, 2007

Dr. Rice's disappointment...
...is a self-inflicted wound.

I have better things to do with my time than take cheap shots at the Secretary of State. This current turn of events is unfortunate, but it was entirely predictable, and if it came as a surprise... one has to wonder who the folks in Foggy Bottom rely upon for intelligence regarding such things as Saudi foreign policy initiatives.





Mecca Accord Ended Rice's Attempt to Restart Peace Talks

Helene Cooper - New York Times - An agreement signed in Mecca two weeks ago brought Hamas into a Palestinian unity government without requiring that it recognize Israel or forswear violence against it. The Saudi-brokered pact largely torpedoed the American-sponsored meeting on Monday between the Israelis and the Palestinians that was meant to jump-start peace talks. While the Bush administration has a view that pits America, its Arab allies, Israel and Europe against Iran, Syria and groups, including Hamas, that the U.S. considers terrorists, this is not necessarily how America's Sunni Arab allies view the world.

In the past year, Shiite Iran has been wooing Hamas, which is Sunni. The Saudis did not like that, so they fought to get Hamas back on the Sunni side. The Mecca pact put an end, at least temporarily, to the Hamas-Fatah bloodletting. It also put an end, at least temporarily, to Rice's attempt to restart peace talks.

Posted on 21 February 2007 @ 13:45 GMT

[Cindy]

RECAP AND UPDATE:

CNS NEWS.com: MOSCOWN - "DEMOCRAT SUGGESTS DROPPING CONTENTIOUS RUSSIAN TRADE RESTRICTION" by Sergei Blagov (February 22, 2007)

WASHINGTON TIMES.com: "RICE: MISSILE-DEFENSE CRITICISM 'UNFORTUNATE'" by Nicholas Kralev (February 22, 2007)

NEWSMAX.com Wires (AP): "RUSSIA MAY QUIT 1987 ARMS REDUCTION TREATY" (February 15, 2007)

WASHINGTON TIMES.com: "PUTIN'S NEW ARMS RACE" -Commentary by James Hackett (February 13, 2007)

FreeRepublic.com - Key Word: "RUSSIA"

NEWSMAX.com - Hot Topics: "RUSSIA"

[Cindy]

Correction to CNS NEWS link: MOSCOW

[Cindy]

http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=27047

"Wartime 'Agitation'"
By Frank J Gaffney Jr.
The Washington Times | February 22, 2007



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stepping back in time...

http://fourthworldwar.blogspot.com/2003/12/when-does-politics-become-treason.html

Tuesday, December 23, 2003
"'When Does Politics Become Treason?'"
by J. Michael Waller
Insight Magazine, December 23, 2003.

[Cindy]

http://hotair.com/archives/2007/02/21/video-a-world-without-america/

"Video: 'A World Without America'"
posted at 2:17 pm on February 21, 2007 by Allahpundit
Send to a Friend | printer-friendly

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JwAtNILh6uY&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Fhotair%2Ecom%2Farchives%2F2007%2F02%2F21%2Fvideo%2Da%2Dworld%2Dwithout%2Damerica%2F

"A World Without America"
(Added February 20, 2007)

[Cindy]

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1789070/posts?page=4#4

I'm outraged and I DO NOT read the Los Angeles Times.
Period.

Thanks for the ping, piasa.

(As an aside, Zarqawi used to read the Los Angeles Times. I don't know if Hell subcribes to it, so unsure if he still does.)


4 posted on 02/22/2007 3:56:48 AM PST by Cindy
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies | Report Abuse ]
To: All
http://internet-haganah.com/harchives/005285.html

19 November 2005
"Zarqawi: 'I read it in the Los Angeles Times'"

http://internet-haganah.com/hmedia/19nov05-zarqawi-latimes.mp3

5 posted on 02/22/2007 4:03:58 AM PST by Cindy

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Note: The following text is a quote:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1789070/posts


A Real Outing
WSJ / OpinionJournal ^ | February 21, 2007 | James Taranto

Posted on 02/22/2007 3:44:45 AM PST by CutePuppy

BY JAMES TARANTO
February 21, 2007

A Real Outing
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-pilots18feb18,1,3175908.story

The Los Angeles Times boasts that it has identified three CIA pilots who are facing kidnapping charges in Germany over a 2003 counterterrorism operation there:

The names they used were all aliases, but The Times confirmed their real identities from government databases and visited their homes this month after a German court in January ordered the arrest of the three "ghost pilots" and 10 other alleged members of the CIA's special renditions unit on charges of kidnapping and causing serious bodily harm to Khaled Masri, a German citizen of Lebanese descent, three years ago.

None of the pilots responded to repeated requests for comment left with family members and on their home telephones. The Times is not publishing their real names because they have been charged only under their aliases.

But it does offer plenty of details about them:

In real life, the chief pilot is ...

His copilot, who used the alias ...

The third pilot, who used the alias ...

Remember all the outrage when Robert Novak "outed" Valerie Plame, who apparently worked a desk job at CIA headquarters in Langley, Va.? Here the L.A. Times is publishing extensive personal details on three men who have actually done dangerous work defending the country. Where's the outrage?

(Excerpt) Read more at opinionjournal.com ...

[Cindy]

ON THE NET...

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/keyword?k=stalking
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/keyword?k=stalker
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/keyword?k=cyberstalking
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/keyword?k=cyberstalker

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http://michellemalkin.com/archives/006924.htm

MICHELLE MALKIN.com - BLOG:
"Facebook nightmare: College Republican targeted by stalker speaks out"
By Michelle Malkin · February 22, 2007 04:30 AM

[Cindy]

NOTE: The following text SNIPPET is a quote. Click on the url to read the whole thing.

https://www.osac.gov/Reports/report.cfm?contentID=63860

you are here: Home > Reports > Consular Affairs Bulletins > Report
Warden Message: Pakistan Attack Threats
Consular Affairs Bulletins
South / Central Asia - Pakistan
21 Feb 2007

Printer Friendly Email Article
Related Reports
17 Feb 2007
Warden Message: Islamabad Non-Specific Threat
10 Feb 2007
Warden Message: Peshawar NGO Compound Bombed
7 Feb 2007
Warden Message: Islamabad Airport Attack
2 Feb 2007
Pakistan Benchmarking Survey Results
29 Jan 2007
Warden Message: Peshawar Suicide Bomb
U.S. Embassy Islamabad issued the following Warden Message on February 21:

The U.S. Mission has received non-specific information regarding terrorist attacks, possibly suicide attacks, against U.S. interests or places frequented by westerners in the major cities in Pakistan, such as Islamabad, Karachi, Lahore, and Peshawar. Targets could also include Christian churches, markets, the diplomatic enclave and convention center (Islamabad), and other crowded areas. Americans are advised to take every precaution, avoid popular markets and restaurants, and vary routes and times.

The Embassy would like to remind the American citizen community of the need to stay alert, be aware of your surroundings, reduce travel to minimum acceptable levels, act self-defensively at all times. We remind American citizens that threats, protests and demonstrations may occur throughout Pakistan without prior notice or warning and to avoid all demonstrations and protests.

For the latest security information, Americans traveling abroad should regularly monitor the Department's Internet web site at travel.state.gov where the Worldwide Caution Public Announcement http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/pa/pa_1161.html and the Pakistan Consular Information Sheet http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_992.html and Travel Warning can be found. Up-to-date information on security can also be obtained by calling 1-888-407-4747 toll free in the United States, or, for callers outside the United States and Canada, a regular toll line at 1-202-501-4444. These numbers are available from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time, Monday through Friday (except U.S. federal holidays).