Threat Matrix: March 2007

Previous Thread ^

[Cindy]

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/keyword?k=11March
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/keyword?k=March11

===
===

THANKS to J Aguilar for the ping to this thread:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1799124/posts

"3/11: Three Years On: the Eighth Suicide Gives Testimony before the Court"
Libertad Digital ^ | 8 March 2007 | Libertad Digital (transl. J Aguilar)

Posted on 03/11/2007 11:54:31 AM PDT by J Aguilar

[Cindy]

Same back at you MamaDearest and thank you.

[Cindy]

Thanks to DC for the ping to thread.

Note: The following post is a quote:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/1799224/posts


Swiss paper says former Taliban Defense Minister freed
Zee News ^ | March 11 2007

Posted on 03/11/2007 5:00:35 PM PDT by Dog

A Swiss newspaper claimed on Sunday that the Taliban's former Defense Minister was free two days after his reported capture by Pakistani security forces.

The Swiss weekly Sonntagsblick said one of its reporters spoke to Mullah Obaidullah Akhund on February 28 unhindered in an Islamic School in the southwestern city of Quetta.

Akhund, considered a key ally of fugitive Taliban leader Mullah Omar, was the most senior leader from the hard-line militia to be reported arrested since US-led troops ousted it from power in 2001.

Several Pakistani intelligence officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said earlier this month that he was among five Taliban suspects arrested on February 26 in a raid on a Quetta home. However, Pakistani government officials at that time did not confirm any arrest publicly, and one senior interior ministry official who handles counterterrorism issues denied a top Taliban figure was captured.

Pakistani officials could not be reached for comment late today on the Swiss newspaper's claim.

Bureau Report

[Cindy]

Note: Thank to Ernest at the Beach for starting this thread.

Note: The following post is a quote:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1799362/posts


BBC: Bomber wounds three in Casablanca
BBC ^ | Monday, 12 March 2007, 05:47 GMT | BBC staff

Posted on 03/12/2007 12:02:15 AM PDT by Ernest_at_the_Beach

Bomber wounds three in Casablanca






A suicide bomber has wounded three people in an internet cafe in the Moroccan city of Casablanca.

The attack, which took place on Sunday evening in the Sidi Moumen district of the city, left the bomber dead.

The blast happened after the man began a dispute with the cafe's owner, who refused him access to jihadist sites.

Another man, with the bomber at the time of the blast, fled after the explosion but has now been arrested by police, reports say.


"The man used to come to view jihadist websites and the dispute was prompted by the internet cafe owner's decision to prevent him this time from viewing such propaganda material," one official told Reuters.

Police say it is unclear if the device was detonated by design or went off by accident during the argument between the two men.

One theory is that the man was trying to access websites or email to receive instructions on where to detonate the explosives.

The blast occurred in a slum area of the city that was home to 13 suicide bombers who carried out a series of co-ordinated suicide bombings in 2003 which left 33 people dead.





TOPICS: Extended News; Foreign Affairs; News/Current Events; War on Terror; Click to Add Topic
KEYWORDS: CASABLANCA; GLOBALJIHAD; HOMICIDEBOMBER; INTERNET; INTERNETCAFE; JIHAD; JIHADMEDIA; JIHADPROPAGANDA; MOROCCO; SUICIDEBOMBER; Click to Add Keyword

[Cindy]

http://www.truthusa.com/MoreThanCartoons.html
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/keyword?k=globaljihad
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/keyword?k=jihad

===
===

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xk0fK_TPhYY

"Then and Now, Part I"
Added February 20, 2007

===
===

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Puv0r7wDRgw

"Then and Now, Part II"
Added March 11, 2007

(http://littlegreenfootballs.com/weblog/?entry=24768_Then_and_Now_Part_2&only )

[Cindy]

ON THE NET...

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/keyword?k=GLOBALJIHAD
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/keyword?k=jihad
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/keyword?k=jihadis
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/keyword?k=reverts

---

Note: The following text is a quote:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1799365/posts


Terrorists Proving Harder to Profile (Traits of Islamic Extremists Are Constantly Shifting)
Monday, March 12, 2007; Page A01 ^ | Monday, March 12, 2007; Page A01 | Craig Whitlock; Washington Post Foreign Service

Posted on 03/12/2007 1:12:09 AM PDT by Paleo Conservative

ZUTPHEN, Netherlands -- On the surface, the young Dutch Moroccan mother looked like an immigrant success story: She studied business in college, hung out at the pub with her friends and was known for her fashionable taste in clothes.

So residents of this 900-year-old river town were thrown for a loop last year when Bouchra El-Hor, now 24, appeared in a British courtroom wearing handcuffs under an all-encompassing black veil. Prosecutors said she had covered up plans for a terrorist attack and wrote a letter offering to sacrifice herself and her infant son as martyrs

"We were flabbergasted to learn that she had become a fanatic," said Renee Haantjes, a college instructor who recalled her as "a normal Dutch girl."

People in Zutphen may have been surprised, but terrorism suspects from atypical backgrounds are becoming increasingly common in Western Europe. With new plots surfacing every month, police across Europe are arresting significant numbers of women, teenagers, white-skinned suspects and people baptized as Christians -- groups that in the past were considered among the least likely to embrace Islamic radicalism.

"We were flabbergasted to learn that she had become a fanatic," said Renee Haantjes, a college instructor who recalled her as "a normal Dutch girl."

People in Zutphen may have been surprised, but terrorism suspects from atypical backgrounds are becoming increasingly common in Western Europe. With new plots surfacing every month, police across Europe are arresting significant numbers of women, teenagers, white-skinned suspects and people baptized as Christians -- groups that in the past were considered among the least likely to embrace Islamic radicalism.

The demographics of those being arrested are so diverse that many European counterterrorism officials and

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

[Cindy]

ON THE NET...

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

---

http://www.washingtontimes.com/national/20070311-113356-1660r.htm

Page 1 of 2 next »

"CAIR OK'd to meet in Capitol"
By S.A. Miller
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
March 12, 2007

ARTICLE SNIPPET: "A House Democrat has arranged for a conference room in the Capitol building to be used tomorrow by the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), a Muslim advocacy group criticized for its persistent refusal to disavow terrorist groups such as Hamas and Hezbollah.

The District-based group also is singled out by other Democratic lawmakers and some law-enforcement officials because of financial ties to terrorists.

Rep. Bill Pascrell Jr., New Jersey Democrat, reserved the basement conference room for CAIR's panel discussion Tuesday titled "Global Attitudes on Islam-West Relations: U.S. Policy Implications.""


http://www.washingtontimes.com/national/20070311-113356-1660r_page2.htm

Page 2 of 2 «
"CAIR OK'd to meet in Capitol" -Page 2
By S.A. Miller
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
March 12, 2007

[Cindy]

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/keyword?k=visas
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1799369/posts

---

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=54657


"U.S. visa policy greenlights terror"
Posted: March 12, 2007
1:00 a.m. Eastern



WASHINGTON –

ARTICLE SNIPPET: "The basis for that threat is the "Visa Waiver Program" between the U.S. and Great Britain.

The program allows anyone subject to the VWP to sidestep in-place security procedures that screen for terrorists.

British security officials have revealed there are some 200 cells involving more than 1,600 people. Many under surveillance have links back to al-Qaida in Pakistan.

"Through those links, al-Qaida gives guidance and training to its largely British foot soldiers here on an extensive and growing scale," a British security official said.

(Story continues below)


Last year, British authorities broke up a transatlantic plot by some 24 British citizens of Pakistani origin to detonate explosives carried on board several airliners traveling from the UK to the U.S.

Great Britain, however, is but one of 27 countries whose citizens are not required to obtain visas to enter the U.S.

The other countries under the Visa Waiver Program are Andorra, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brunei, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Monaco, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, San Marino, Singapore, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland."

ARTICLE SNIPPET: "The GAO also identified several weaknesses with the VWP. Most citizens from VWP countries may enter the U.S. visa-free for up to 90 days. They thereby avoid security screening.

Within that period of time, however, terrorists can perform their operation and disappear."

[Cindy]

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1799246/posts

"U.S. Prosecution Of Border Guards Is Baffling"
The Columbus Dispatch ^ | Saturday, March 10, 2007 | TERRY T. MAGYAR

Posted on 03/11/2007 6:03:56 PM PDT by buccaneer81

[Cindy]

Thanks to RDTF for starting this thread.

Note: The following post is a quote:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1799379/posts


'Some Things You Never Forget' (Muslims held 150 hostage in DC 30 years ago)
The Washington Post ^ | March 12, 2007 | Theresa Vargas

Posted on 03/12/2007 3:24:53 AM PDT by RDTF

The small scar above Marion Barry's heart has had three decades to fade, but it's still noticeable -- evidence that some things don't disappear with time.

For 39 hours in March 1977 -- before the word "terrorism" entered our daily vocabulary -- 12 gunmen paralyzed the District in a three-point siege. The group of Hanafi Muslims held about 150 people hostage in three buildings, and before they surrendered, a young reporter was killed and dozens were injured, including D.C. Council member Barry. A shotgun pellet pierced his chest, right above his heart, nearly killing him.

-snip-

The 12 gunmen had several demands. They wanted the government to hand over a group of men who had been convicted of killing seven relatives -- mostly children -- of takeover leader Hamaas Abdul Khaalis. They also demanded that the movie "Mohammad, Messenger of God" be destroyed because they considered it sacrilegious.

Most of the hostages, more than 100, were captured at the B'nai B'rith headquarters.

Rae Ehrlich, a secretary on the fourth floor of the Jewish organization's building at the time, was among those held captive.

-snip-

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

[Cindy]

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

---

http://michellemalkin.com/archives/007035.htm

"Killed cartoons"
By Michelle Malkin · March 11, 2007 10:13 AM

[Cindy]

NOTE: The following text is a quote:

https://www.osac.gov/Reports/report.cfm?contentID=64697

you are here: Home > Reports > Consular Affairs Bulletins > Report
Warden Message: Minsk Demonstration March 12
Consular Affairs Bulletins
Europe - Belarus
9 Mar 2007

Printer Friendly Email Article
Related Reports
11 Oct 2006
Worldwide Caution Public Announcement
14 Sep 2006
Warden Message: Minsk Demonstrations September 16
U.S. Embassy Minsk released the following Warden Message on March 9:

A demonstration of market vendors is scheduled to take place at Bangalore Square on March 12, 2007 at 1200 hours. Minsk City authorities have approved a permit that would allow up to 1,000 persons to participate.

We remind American citizens that even demonstrations intended to be peaceful can turn confrontational and possibly escalate into violence. American citizens are therefore urged to avoid the areas of demonstrations if possible, and to exercise caution if within the vicinity of any demonstrations. Please keep informed of developments by monitoring local media and embassy messages, and obey law enforcement authorities.

For the latest security information, Americans living and traveling abroad should regularly monitor the Department's Bureau of Consular Affairs Internet website at http://travel.state.gov, where the current Worldwide Cautions, Public Announcements, and Travel Warnings can be found. Up-to-date information on security can also be obtained by calling 1-888-407-4747 toll free in the U.S., or, for callers outside the U.S. 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).

The Consular Section of the U.S. Embassy in Minsk is located at 46 Starovilenskaya, Minsk, 220002 Belarus. We can be reached by: telephone, +375-17-210-1283; by fax +375-17-217-7160; or by email ConsularMinsk@state.gov. Additional information can be found at the Embassy's website at http://minsk.usembassy.gov/html/consular_services.html

Hours for American Citizen Services are every working day 2:30-4:30 p.m.

[Cindy]

http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_1123.html
http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_965.html

===
===

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070311/wl_afp/germanyaustria;_ylt=AoaTxCSOSkli0MoIn2Rsu3hvaA8F

"Islamist militants threaten to attack Germany, Austria"
by Ali Khalil Sun Mar 11, 12:38 PM ET

ARTICLE SNIPPET: "DUBAI (AFP) - Islamist militants threatened to attack Germany and Austria if they do not pull their troops out of Afghanistan, in a statement read out on Sunday by a masked man on a website linked to Al-Qaeda.

ADVERTISEMENT

The two governments sought to play down the threat, with Austrian Chancellor Chancellor Alfred Gusenbauer saying: "The people have no reason to worry.""

[Cindy]

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

===

NOTE: The following text is a quote:

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3375396,00.html

IDF arrests Hamas lawmaker in Ramallah

Published: 03.12.07, 12:21 / Israel News

An IDF force arrested early Monday morning Ahmed Mubarak, a Hamas Parliament member.

Mubarak was arrested in his house in Ramallah and transferred for questioning. (Efrat Weiss)

[Cindy]

http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/tw/tw_922.html

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

This information is current as of today, Mon Mar 12 2007 03:48:39 GMT-0700.

ISRAEL, THE WEST BANK AND GAZA

January 17, 2007

[Cindy]

Off Topic, but fyi:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6440747.stm

Last Updated: Monday, 12 March 2007, 06:38 GMT

"Dubai airport shut after accident"

ARTICLE SNIPPET: "Dubai international airport could be closed for up to eight hours after 14 people were slightly injured in an aircraft accident, officials say.
The details of the accident were not clear, but it involved a Biman Bangladesh Airlines aeroplane carrying 236 passengers and crew.

Flight BG006 from Dubai to Dhaka "had a minor accident during take-off," the Dubai Civil Aviation Authority said.

It said all the passengers and crew had been evacuated from the plane.

An official said there was no indication that terrorism had played any part in the incident."

[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, Mon Mar 12 2007 03:57:27 GMT-0700.

Worldwide Caution

October 11, 2006

[Cindy]

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

[Godzilla]

placemark

[Velveeta]

Oh NO, MamaDearest - how terribly sad.
I will pray for you all.

{{{{Hugs}}}
Vel