Threat Matrix: June 2007

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

http://www.washingtontimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070629/NATION04/106290088/1008

“Inside the Ring”
Bill Gertz
June 29, 2007
China controls

ARTICLE SNIPPET: “Defense officials say new Commerce Department export controls on goods to China will assist Beijing’s intelligence services in identifying U.S. technology for purchase or theft for its military buildup.

The Commerce Department announced on June 15 that it is loosening export licensing requirements for some goods with military applications sold to China and imposing new licensing rules on a list of items that could help build China’s military.

“The list is a road map for the Ministry of State Security weapons collection efforts, in essence a target list,” said one defense official of China’s civilian intelligence service.”

Note: The following text is a quote:

https://www.osac.gov/Reports/report.cfm?contentID=70290

ou are here: Home > Reports > Consular Affairs Bulletins > Report
Warden Message: London Police Find Potential Explosive Device
Consular Affairs Bulletins
Europe - United Kingdom
29 Jun 2007

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U.S. Embassy London released the following Warden Message on June 29:

At approximately 2:00 a.m. GMT Friday, June 29, London’s Metropolitan Police were alerted to a potential explosive device in a car in the Haymarket area in Central London. While rendering the device safe, police cordoned off the vicinity. Piccadilly underground station is currently closed.

According to the London Metropolitan Police, the Haymarket is likely to remain closed for the foreseeable future. The public are advised that there is likely to be local disruption to both pedestrians and vehicles. If you believe that you have seen something suspicious, call the Anti-Terrorist hotline on 0800-789-321.

This incident serves as a reminder to all Americans living and traveling abroad to remain aware of their surroundings at all times and be vigilant to suspicious activity. For further safety and security information, please see the latest worldwide caution on the continuing possibility of terrorist attacks (http://london.usembassy.gov/cons_new/warden_messages/warden_message_11apr07.html ), our warden message on personal security practices (http://london.usembassy.gov/cons_new/warden_messages/warden_message_19jan07.html ), and the Department of State’s brochure on safe travel (http://travel.state.gov/travel/tips/safety/safety_1747.html ).

For the latest security information, Americans living and traveling abroad should regularly monitor the Department’s Bureau of Consular Affairs Internet website at travel.state.gov. The U.S. Embassy in London also maintains a website at http://london.usembassy.gov . In addition to information on the Internet, travelers may obtain up-to-date information on security conditions by calling 1-888-407-4747 toll-free in the U.S. or outside the U.S. and Canada on a regular toll line at 1-202-501-4444. You may also reach the U.S. Embassy in London at (020) 7499-9000 between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. GMT.

http://www.1010wins.com/pages/630372.php?contentType=4&contentId=650561

Posted: Friday, 29 June 2007 10:46AM

“Britain Bomb Prompts More NYC Security”

ARTICLE SNIPPET: “NEW YORK (AP) — The city is strengthening its already-tight security as a precaution after a bomb was discovered in a busy area of London, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said Friday.

“We’re going to ramp up a little bit, but nothing dramatic,’’ Bloomberg said on his weekly radio show. “We’ll take a little bit of extra precaution. Some of you will notice, some of you won’t — but we have to be cognizant.’’

The U.S. government urged Americans to be vigilant about suspicious activity after British police defused the bomb in central London, but officials said they saw no potential terrorist threat in the United States ahead of next week’s Fourth of July holiday.

In New York, police were placing more patrols in Times Square and the mass transit system, according to department spokesman Paul Browne. Officers were working beyond the end of their shifts to provide extra coverage during the evening rush hour.”

US urges vigilance after London incident
By MATTHEW LEE, Associated Press Writers

The government is urging Americans to be vigilant about suspicious activity after British police defused a bomb in downtown London, but officials said they saw no potential terrorist threat in the United States ahead of next week's Fourth of July holiday.

The Department of Homeland Security said in a statement that it was in close contact with state and local authorities around the nation but had "no specific credible information suggesting a threat to the homeland at this time."

"At this time we are characterizing this as a localized incident in London," DHS spokeswoman Laura Keehner said.

"We encourage the public to enjoy the upcoming holiday but ask, as always, that they be vigilant and report suspicious activity to authorities," she said.

President Bush was briefed on the incident by national security adviser Stephen Hadley in Maine, where the president is at his family's home to meet Sunday and Monday with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

"We commend the British security services and local officials for their action today. U.S. officials are in contact with their U.K. counterparts and will continue to monitor the situation," said Gordon Johndroe, a spokesman for the National Security Council.

The bomb near Piccadilly Circus was powerful enough that it could have caused "significant injury or loss of life" — possibly killing hundreds, British anti-terror police chief Peter Clarke said.

U.S. counterterrorism officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation is ongoing, said it was too early to say whether the foiled attack in London was strictly a British threat, or whether there could be related threats in the U.S. and elsewhere.

"At this point, you can't draw conclusions about what it may or may not mean about plotting against the U.S.," one official said. "Concern about that kind of plotting is always there."

The London threat comes at the same time as U.S. counterterrorism authorities are worried about terrorist activity in the tribal areas of Pakistan, where al-Qaida continues to have a presence, although officials said it was too early to know if there were links to extremist elements there.

A threat from that region would not be new to London, officials said. On July 7, 2005, four bombs exploded in the city's transit system, and investigators found that attack had links leading back to Pakistan.

However, a second U.S. counterterrorism official said it was also too early to know who may have been behind the foiled attack or if there were any links to extremist elements in Pakistan.

In London, the U.S. Embassy said in a statement to Americans that the "incident serves as a reminder to all Americans living and traveling abroad to remain aware of their surroundings at all times and be vigilant to suspicious activity."

At the Pentagon, the matter was brought up at a regular early morning briefing among members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff to make officials in Washington aware of the incident. A staff member said later that if there had been any request for Defense Department involvement in the investigation, he was not aware of it.

Earlier Friday, London police defused an explosive car loaded with gas cylinders, nails and a detonator after an ambulance crew reported seeing smoke coming from the vehicle in The Haymarket, near Piccadilly Circus, after an ambulance crew — responding to a call just before 1:30 a.m.

The area — packed with restaurants, bars, a cinema complex and theaters — was busy and buzzing at that hour. Haymarket links Piccadilly Circus to the north to the Pall Mall at its southern end.

A British security official, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the information, told The Associated Press that Britain's domestic spy agency MI5 also would examine possible connections between the bomb attempt and at least two similar foiled plots — including a planned attack on a West End nightclub in 2004 and a thwarted attempt to use limousines packed with gas canisters to attack targets in London and New York.

http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/002200706291857.htm

June 29, 2007

“Anonymous letter warns of blast in three trains from Jaipur”

ARTICLE SNIPPET: “Jaipur, June. 29 (PTI): A letter saying that a human bomb and two mobile phone bombs could explode anytime in three trains on Agra, Jammu and Ahmedabad sections today sent police into a tizzy as bomb disposal squad and sniffers dogs were called in to search all the trains originating from here.

The hand written anonymous letter in which the writer had described himself as a Hindu and a citizen of India, was found in the mailbox of VVIP reservations, an official at the divisional commerical office of Railways said.”

Was London Bomb Plot Heralded On Web?

Hours before London explosives technicians dismantled a large car bomb in the heart of the British capital's tourist-rich theater district, a message appeared on one of the most widely used jihadist Internet forums, saying: "Today I say: Rejoice, by Allah, London shall be bombed."

CBS News found the posting, which went on for nearly 300 words, on the "al Hesbah" chat room. It was left by a person who goes by the name abu Osama al-Hazeen, who appears regularly on the forum.

Al Hesbah is frequently used by international Sunni militant groups, including al Qaeda and the Taliban, to post propaganda videos and messages in their fight against the West.

There was no way for CBS News to independently confirm any connection between the posting made Thursday night and the car bomb found Friday.

Al-Hazeen's message begins: "In the name of God, the most compassionate, the most merciful. Is Britain Longing for al Qaeda's bombings?"

Al-Hazeen decries the recent knighthood of controversial author Salman Rushdie as a blow felt by all British Muslims. "This 'honoring' came at a crucial time, a time when the whole nation is reeling from the crusaders attacks on all Muslim lands," he said, in an apparent reference to the British role in Iraq.

"We say to Britain: The Emir of al Qaeda, Sheikh Osama, has once threatened you, and he carried out his threats. Today I say: Rejoice, by Allah, London shall be bombed," the message reads.

Speaking at a news conference Friday after the bomb scare in central London, the Metropolitan Police force's Counter-Terrorism Commander Peter Clarke said that officials had "no indication that we were going to be attacked this way".

Prior to the Thursday night posting by al-Hazeen, there had been no specific allusions to threats against London or Britain seen on al Hesbah, or any other major jihadist forums in recent weeks.

Several responses to the posting by other forum members expressed hope that an attack against London would be realized in the near future.

In response, al-Hazeen urges patience, saying, "Victory is very close, but you are just rushing it."

Reached by CBSNews.com Friday, the Metropolitan Police's media office could not confirm whether investigators were aware of the Internet posting on al Hesbah.

Intelligence sources who spoke to CBS News Friday morning seemed to express surprise at the discovery of the device, suggesting there had been "no warning, no intel, no smell" as a prelude to the plot — a vacuum of information which reportedly had Britain's domestic intelligence agency "very, very worried".

The attempted bombing in London's Haymarket area came one week before the second anniversary of the July 7 bombings that killed 52 people on London's transportation network.

Also Friday, a London jury was expected to hand down a verdict in the case against five young men who were charged with trying to blow up city buses and trains in 2005.

The men, all from London, were arrested after police found homemade devices on trains and buses that had failed to detonate properly — sending puffs of smoke from backpacks that frightened commuters, but injured no one.

Early reports from law enforcement officials indicate that the car bomb found Friday morning may also have failed to detonate properly — causing smoke to appear in the passenger area. It was the smoke that prompted people to call explosives officers to the scene.

One explosives expert told the British Broadcasting Corporation that the device — comprised of gas canisters and nails — appeared to be a fairly crude construction, and not the work of anyone with an extensive knowledge of weaponry.

Britain has wrestled since the July 7, 2005, over how to deal with the threat of "homegrown" terrorism. Young men from the country's large Muslim population are easy prey for radical clerics and propaganda campaigns propagated on Internet forums such as al Hesbah.

In addition to messages calling for jihad in Britain, detailed video demonstrations of how to construct bombs using gas canisters are readily available on the forums.

By Tucker Reals

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