Threat Matrix: July 2007

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July 2007

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US Steps Up Security Following Attack in Britain

Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff made appearances on several television talk shows.

He told ABC's This Week program there is no indication of a linkage between the events in Britain and any specific attacks on the United States. "We do not have, at this point, specific, credible intelligence that there is an attack, a particular attack, focused on this country," he said.

But at the same time, speaking on CNN's Late Edition program, Chertoff said U.S. authorities are concerned about the threat of terrorism, especially in the coming months. "We have had a number of al-Qaida leaders quite publicly talking about how they want to carry out their threats against the West. So, given that and given the history that we have had over past summers, with attacks in Britain, I think we were clearly focused on this as a possibility," he said. Full story...

	More United Kingdom Attacks Possible
	More US Air Marshals on Flights to Europe
	Officials: Car Bomb Plot Bears al Qaida's Trademark

[Cindy]

Thanks to Aliveritas for the ping to this thread:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1866515/posts

“Truce Over, Pakistan Militants Kill 70”
Associated Press ^ | Jul 16, 2007 | RIAZ KHAN

Posted on 07/16/2007 12:47:13 AM PDT by AliVeritas

PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP)

[Cindy]

RECAP AND UPDATED:

FRONTPAGE MAGAZINE.com: "THE COLUMBUS HOMELAND SECURITY COVER-UP" by Patrick Poole (July 16, 2007)

FRONTPAGE MAGAZINE.com: "'COLUMBUS' HOMETOWN JIHAD" by Patrick Poole (July 11, 2007)

LittleGreenFootballs.com - weblog: "OHIO HOMELAND SECURITY BOARD APPOINTS TERROR APOLOGIST" (July 13, 2007)

[Cindy]

(Note: Videos included.)

http://www.terrorismawareness.org/
THE TERRORISM AWARENESS PROJECT

[Cindy]

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

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

###

http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=29159

“Iraq Study Group: Still a Bad Idea”
By James Phillips
Heritage Foundation | July 16, 2007

[Cindy]

http://www.washingtontimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070716/METRO/107160057/1001

“Two sites eyed for day-laborer center in D.C.”
By Gary Emerling
July 16, 2007

[Cindy]

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/keyword?k=mexico
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/keyword?k=drugcartel
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/keyword?k=drugcartels

#

http://www.washingtontimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070716/NATION/107160060/1002

Page 1 of 2 next >>

“Cartels grow pot on ‘national treasures,’ drug czar says”
By Jerry Seper
July 16, 2007

ARTICLE SNIPPET: “Marijuana cultivation on public land in the U.S. is a multibillion-dollar business, run by Mexican drug cartels and guarded by heavily armed members of U.S.-based street gangs and Mexican nationals, says the head of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP).

“Our national treasures are now ground zero for international and domestic drug cultivation and trafficking,” said drug czar John P. Walters. “We must push back against the invasion of foreign drug-trafficking organizations through increased law-enforcement collaboration, enhanced intelligence and expanded investigations to reclaim our public lands.””

[Cindy]

DEA.GOV
http://www.dea.gov

#

http://www.usdoj.gov/dea/pubs/cngrtest/ct071207.html

“Written Statement of
Joseph T. Rannazzisi
Deputy Assistant Administrator
Office of Diversion Control
Drug Enforcement Administration
United States Department of Justice”

July 12, 2007

[Cindy]

Note: The following text is a quote:

http://www.assistnews.net/Stories/2007/s07070085.htm

ASSIST News Service (ANS) - PO Box 609, Lake Forest, CA 92609-0609 USA
Visit our web site at: www.assistnews.net — E-mail: assistnews@aol.com

Friday, July 13, 2007

Armed Muslim men occupy Christian man’s house

By Sheraz Khurram Khan
Special Correspondent for ASSIST News Service in Pakistan

SARGODHA, PAKISTAN (ANS) — At least 30 Muslim men armed with weapons forcibly entered a Christian man’s house on July 9 at 5:00 PM and occupied the plot after demolishing a room. The house was built in Fatima Jinnah colony, some 5 Kilometers from Sargodha city in the precincts of the Jhal Chakian Police Station.

Safdar Masih’s son, Saleem Masih, had purchased the land some six years ago. Talking to ANS, Safdar said the government owned that land. He said he purchased the land through a middleman.

The trouble began when Saleem Masih constructed four walls of the house as well as a room. The assailants abused Safdar Masih’s wife and tore her clothes. They threw Masih’s household items in the street.

“Some three to four groups of people approached me. They pressured my son to sell his house but he refused to sell it since he needed it himself”, said Safdar Masih.

Masih’s son, Sarfraz alleged that even the Deputy Nazim (vice head of Local government bodies), Zahid, also sided with Muslims. Sarfraz and his father both alleged that even the Nazim was present when the armed Muslim men had forced their way into Saleem Masih’s house.

Talking to ANS Zahid said Tahir Chakoor, a Muslim man, showed him evidence that he had purchased the land where Masih constructed a room in 1992. “He maintained that while the Muslim man had ‘evidence’ showing him owner of the plot he had none.

Sarfraz Masih insisted that Tahir was in possession of fake documents. Masih’s son Sarfraz said that the legal papers were old while they had put fake stamps on the document. The legal paper is old but the ink used for writing is new and it reveals fabrication, he alleged.

“They have bribed the police. They don’t listen to us. They pre-empt our efforts aimed at getting the grabbed piece of land back”, said Sarfraz Masih.

“We even filed application with the police but they don’t listen to us. They have been putting us off that we would visit but that has not realized yet.”

He went on to say that their family did not want to surrender claim to the piece of land where they had erected a room. “We had expressed agreement on a compromise under pressure of influential Muslim men”, Sarfraz confided in ANS.

Speaking to ANS, Tahir Chakoor, the Muslim man who robbed Saleem of his house said he was ready to pay RS 5600 (US$ 933.33) to Masih which he said covered the expenses incurred by Masih on purchasing the land and construction of the room and four walls of the house by Masih.

Safdar Masih, his son, Sarfraz Masih and spouse Surriya while speaking to ANS said that they did not want money back.

“We want our plot back. We want it back badly,” they said.

It merits mentioning here that Rays of Development (ROD) activists including Zimran Elias, Nadeem Samuel, Jawad Mazher and Chairman ROD Ferhan Mazher also accompanied this correspondent.

When a ROD activist asked Sarfraz as to how he would prove in the court that his brother has the right to the piece of land, he said the man from whom his brother, Saleem had purchased the land is still alive. “He would appear in the court to make his statement in this regard”, he said.

The forged documents themselves speak that we are the true owners of the plot, he added.

Talking to ANS a relative of Safdar Masih, Matloob Masih said he was at his home when the armed Muslim men forced Saleem Masih’s mother, Surriyia to evacuate the house.

“When I arrived at the scene of incident the armed Muslim men slapped in my face and intimidated me. They aimed their weapons at me and threatened me with dire consequences if I put up resistance”, he said.

The writer is a freelance journalist based in Pakistan.

** You may republish this story with proper attribution.

[Cindy]

Note: The following text is a quote:

http://www.assistnews.net/Stories/2007/s07070090.htm

ASSIST News Service (ANS) - PO Box 609, Lake Forest, CA 92609-0609 USA
Visit our web site at: www.assistnews.net — E-mail: assistnews@aol.com

Sunday, July 15, 2007

Algeria: Christians and the ‘extremist‘ threat
- law amended; Christians arrested

By Elizabeth Kendal
World Evangelical Alliance Religious Liberty Commission (WEA RLC)
Special to ASSIST News Service

AUSTRALIA (ANS) — On 13 June the Italian daily Corriere Della Sera published a column by Magdi Allam on the persecution of Christians and the lack of religious tolerance in Muslim countries. In the very last paragraph Allam names Algeria, just once, saying “. . .from Algeria to Pakistan, Indonesia to Nigeria, Saudi Arabia to Somalia”, Christians are victims of persecution and discrimination. (Link 1)

Allam’s assertion that Algeria is a nation where Christians are persecuted drew the ire of the Algerian government, with Liberte Algerie publishing an official response from Algeria’s Religious Affairs Ministry on 8 July. MEMRI (Middle East Media Research Institute) reports: “An official response by Algeria’s Religious Affairs Ministry to an article in the Italian daily Corriere, which listed Algeria among the Muslim countries in which Christians are oppressed, stated that ‘Christians in Algeria enjoy greater rights and liberties than do Muslims in Christian countries’. The ministry also asserted that a new Algerian law mandating two to five years in prison for anyone found guilty of trying to convert a Muslim to another religion was in accordance with international conventions.” (Link 2)
These assertions by Algeria’s Religious Affairs Ministry, that “Christians in Algeria enjoy greater rights and liberties than do Muslims in Christian countries” and that Algeria’s religion laws are “in accordance with international conventions” should elicit a response from religious liberty monitors.

LAW AMENDED; CHRISTIANS ARRESTED

In March 2006, a presidential order that established new conditions for the exercise of non-Muslim religious practice was passed in both the Algerian Ummah council (Senate) and in the Algerian National Assembly (Parliament). The law is essentially an anti-missionary, anti-proselytising law that prescribed prison terms and hefty fines for anyone who “incites, constrains or uses seductive means seeking to convert a Muslim to another religion (. . .), or who produces, stores or distributes printed documents or audio-visual formats or any other format or means which seeks to shake the faith of a Muslim”. (For background see link 3).

On 4 June 2007 the government announced amendments to the religion law. Pursuant to Executive Decree 07/158 of 27 May 2007 all non-Muslim religious activities now fall under the auspices of the newly established National Commission for Non-Muslim Faiths which is chaired by the Minister for Religious Affairs and Wakfs or its representative (a wakf/waqf is a Muslim trust). The commission is composed of representatives from the Ministry for National Defence, the Interior and local communities, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Directorate-General of National Security, the Command of the National Police, the national advisory commission of the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights.

From now on non-Muslim religious activity may not take place except in recognised and approved associations and structures unless there is prior written permission from the civil authorities. This does not affect Sunday worship in recognised and approved churches but it does acutely restrict spontaneous worship, home fellowships, open air meetings and public ministry. (Link 4)

According to an article by B Mokhtaria in Le Quotidien D’Oran the new commission now has authority over non-Muslim business and worship. It also has the right to contribute a preliminary opinion regarding the registration of religious associations and the approval of sites for worship. (Link 5)

The spokesman for and advisor to the Ministry for Religious Affairs, Mr Tamine, told Oran that the new laws were promulgated simply to fill in an existing gap in the law as the authorities have become aware of the origins of “extremists” in recent years. He said that the new laws will enable the authorities to crack down on foreign missionaries who enter Algeria on tourist visas to seduce Algerians and convert them to Christianity by fraud and allurement. According to Mr Tamine, these missionaries act under the cover of religion while in reality, he alleges, their agenda is not religious at all. He maintains that Algeria must resist the activities of these non-Muslim “extremists”. He asserts that the new law is not repressive, but protective, and will even protect the Christian expatriate working community from the consequences of religious demonstrations and reactions against Christian “extremism”.

CHRISTIANS CHARGED WITH POSSESSION

On 20 June, five Algerian Christians faced court on charges of possession of Christian literature. (Link 6)

One believer appeared before the court for a second time on 27 June and will reappear in court on 19 December. He had been approached by two men pretending to be interested in the gospel on account of a satellite programme they had seen on El Hayat. The men asked the Christian if he could give them a Bible. When he did, the enquirers revealed themselves as police, arrested the believer and confiscated the box of Bibles he had in his possession. Two other believers were reportedly tricked into giving a Bible to a police officer at a road block. They will face court in September. According to sources the Algerian media did not cover the June trials.

Many believe that the Algerian authorities are overwhelmed and confused by the growing phenomenon of Muslims converting to Christianity.

Whilst this is doubtless true, it is also reasonable to question if the government’s increasingly repressive policies regarding Christianity are in some measure being driven by a desire to appease increasingly threatening Islamic forces.

THE REAL EXTREMIST THREAT

Algerians know that the real threat to Algerian security and stability, progress and prosperity is Islamic “extremism” and fundamentalist militancy.

In late 2006 the Algerian Salafite Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC) pledged allegiance to al-Qaeda. On 24 January 2007, with the blessing of Osama bin Laden, the group changed its name to The Al-Qaeda Organization in the Islamic Maghreb. On 11 April, around 30 people were killed and 22 wounded when this group detonated two bombs in Algiers, one at a police station and one which ripped the facade off the President’s headquarters. (Link 7)

On Wednesday 11 July a 20-year-old jihadist from an al-Qaeda cell bombed an army barracks in Lakhdaria village, 120 km (75 miles) east of Algiers. This suicide truck bombing killed 10 soldiers and wounded 35. (Link 8)

A MEMRI article issued after the 11 April bombings in Algiers entitled “Reactions in the Algerian and Arab Press to the Al-Qaeda Attacks in Algiers” shows that Algerians are under no illusions about the real extremist threat.

MEMRI reports: “Hakim Outoudert, writing in the regional daily La Depeche de Kabylie, questioned the Interior Minister’s assertion that the attacks were an isolated event, and called for an ideological battle against fundamentalism in order to dry up the ‘terrorist matrix’.

“. . . ‘Where did these young people contract this evil, if not from within Algerian society, through a bigoted media literature, but above all within the mosques in subversive suburbs? . . . [Should we] do away with fundamentalism, the matrix of terrorism, by drying up [its] ideological ground, or maintain [its] destructive potential by ceding it the terrain of political initiative? One day we’ll have to choose. The sooner the better.’” (Link 9)

Elizabeth Kendal
rl-research@crossnet.org.au

Links

1) Una manifestazione per i cristiani in Oriente perseguitati
Magdi Allam, 13 Giugno 2007
http://www.corriere.it/Primo_Piano/Esteri/2007/06_Giugno/13/magdi.shtml

2) Algerian Religious Affairs Ministry Denies Persecution of Christians In Country. MEMRI. Source: Liberte, Algerie, July 8, 2007
http://www.thememriblog.org/blog_personal/en/2084.htm

3) Algeria: severe new penalties for ‘proselytising’
World Evangelical Alliance Religious Liberty News & Analysis
By Elizabeth Kendal. Friday 24 March 2006
http://www.worldevangelical.org/news/view.htm?id=408
ALSO, Algeria: Text of Presidential Order Concerning Religion. http://ea.org.au/default.aspx?id=0b0bd037-22c5-442e-9f2d-6bd6120e1c5e
The Presidential Order was published in the Official Journal of the Algerian
Republic (Journal Officiel de la Republique Algerienne) Number 12, 1 March
2006. The direct link to that journal is: http://www.joradp.dz/JO2000/2006/012/F_Pag.htm . The Presidential Order concerning religion is on pages 23 & 24. (French)

4) Restriction de la liberte religieuse pour les Christiens. 18 Juin 2007
http://evangelique-kabyle.blog.mongenie.com/index/p/2007/06/388071
AND – with a clarification submitted from ‘Liberte Algerie’
Les messes chrétiennes n’ont pas besoin d’autorisation des walis
Par Samar, Mercredi 27 Juin 2007, Liberte Algerie
http://www.blogdei.com/index.php/2007/07/06/2261-pratique-des-cultes-non-musulmans-en-algerie-les-reunions-chretiennes-n-auraient-pas-besoin-de-l-autorisation-des-walis

5) Une commission pour reguler la pratique des cultes non musulmans.
par B.Mokhtaria, 7 Juin 2007
http://www.lequotidien-oran.com/index.php?news=501222&archive_date=2007-06-07

6) Cinq Chretiens Algeriens devant la justice le 20 Juin.
22 Juin 2007
http://evangelique-kabyle.blog.mongenie.com/index.php?idblogp=391554

7) Al Qaeda claims responsibility for Algiers bombings
ABC, 12 April 2007
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/04/12/1894940.htm

8) Suicide Attack In Algeria Kills Ten, Wounds 35 Soldiers
12 July 2007. By Joseph S. Mayton - AHN Middle East Correspondent
http://www.allheadlinenews.com/articles/7007888238

9) Reactions in the Algerian and Arab Press to the Al-Qaeda Attacks in Algiers
MEMRI, 17 April 2007, Special Dispatch Series - No. 1546
http://www.memri.org/bin/opener_latest.cgi?ID=SD154607

Elizabeth Kendal is the Principal Researcher and Writer for the World Evangelical Alliance Religious Liberty Commission (WEA RLC) www.worldevangelical.org/rlc.html. This article was initially written for the World Evangelical Alliance Religious Liberty News & Analysis mailing list.

Elizabeth can be contacted by e-mail at rl-research@crossnet.org.au.

** You may republish this story with proper attribution.

[Cindy]

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

[Cindy]

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

#

Note: The following news brief is a quote:

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3425995,00.html

Bomb targets UN peacekeepers in Lebanon

Published: 07.16.07, 11:49 / Israel News

A small bomb went off near a UN peacekeeping vehicle in south Lebanon on Monday, causing damage but no casualties, Lebanese security sources said.

The roadside blast detonated near the Qasmiyeh bridge north of Tyre, where there is a Lebanese army checkpoint, the sources said. (Reuters)

[Cindy]

http://www.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, Mon Jul 16 2007 02:21:13 GMT-0700.

LEBANON

June 14, 2007

[Cindy]

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/123085

“Islamic Jihad Turns Down Amnesty Plan”
by Hillel Fendel

ARTICLE SNIPPET: “(IsraelNN.com) The Islamic Jihad terror gang says it refused an Israeli offer of amnesty for 20 of its top wanted terrorists in exchange for their cessation of terrorism.”

[Cindy]

http://www.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 Jul 16 2007 02:26:24 GMT-0700.

ISRAEL, THE WEST BANK AND GAZA

July 13, 2007

[Cindy]

http://www.islammemo.cc/media//mahdyArmy3.jpg
http://www.islammemo.cc/article1.aspx?id=47543

#

NOTE: The following post is a quote:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1866215/posts

US announces the death of a prominent commander of Al-Mahdi Army in Baghdad
Islammemo ^

Posted on 07/15/2007 7:18:38 AM PDT by harwood

“..intelligence reports clearly linked his group with extremists from Iran...”

(Excerpt) Read more at 64.233.179.104 ...

[Cindy]

UPDATE:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/6899322.stm

Last Updated: Sunday, 15 July 2007, 10:17 GMT 11:17 UK

“Vigilance urged over Tesco threat”

ARTICLE SNIPPET: “Police have urged shoppers to be “vigilant at all times” after threats forced 14 Tesco stores to shut.

Police closed the shops across the UK on Saturday afternoon but they reopened for normal trading on Sunday.

Hertfordshire Police, which is leading the investigation, said each store had been searched and given the all-clear.

“There is still no reason to believe that the incidents are linked to extremism of any kind,” the constabulary added.

One line of inquiry is of a possible financial motive behind the threats.

The supermarket giant is understood to have lost millions of pounds in sales as the 14 stores were forced to shut.

Hertfordshire Police said the stores were closed on Saturday as a precaution and no-one had been hurt.

Tesco is continuing to work closely with police, it added.”

[Cindy]

SNIPPET - QUOTE:

http://www.travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_1052.html

U.S. Department of State
Bureau of Consular Affairs
Washington, DC 20520

Consular Information Sheet

Please click on this link to read important information you should see before you travel abroad

United Kingdom and Gibraltar (England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland)

Americans planning travel to United Kingdom and Gibraltar (England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland) should read Intercountry Adoption United Kingdom , International Parental Child Abduction United Kingdom, CHILD SUPPORT ENFORCEMENT - Country Specific United Kingdom, Avian Flu Fact Sheet, Updated Information Regarding Polonium-210 and Worldwide Caution Public Announcement available on the Department of State web site at http://travel.state.gov

[Cindy]

http://www.wtop.com/?nid=600&sid=1189767

“Homemade Fireworks Blamed in Garage Explosion”
July 16, 2007 - 5:21am

By STEPHEN MANNING
Associated Press Writer

ARTICLE SNIPPET: “CENTREVILLE, Va. (AP) - A man who was apparently trying to make fireworks caused an explosion in the garage of his northern Virginia home Sunday, authorities said.

Nobody was hurt in the explosion, which occurred before 1 p.m., or in the subsequent fire, which spread to the home, said Capt. Chris Schaff, a spokesman for the Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department. Schaff said the fire was not completely extinguished until about 5:30 p.m.

Mike Campbell, a spokesman for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, said flash powder, which is used in fireworks, was found among the chemicals in the garage.

“It just appears he may have been wanting to make his own homemade fireworks,” Campbell said. “This is what happens when you do that.”

Schaff said there were a variety of dangerous chemicals, including fertilizer, stored in the garage and in a detached shed behind the house. He said local officials asked both ATF and the FBI to assist because of the nature of the chemicals.”

[Cindy]

http://www.westernresistance.com/blog/archives/003809.html

July 15, 2007

“Hamas, Gaza and the Muslim Brotherhood’s “Project” - Part 2 of 2”

(Note: “This article by Adrian Morgan (Giraldus Cambrensis of Western Resistance) appeared earlier in Family Security Matters and is reproduced with their permission.”)

[Cindy]

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

#

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1866528/posts

“Iran Asks Japan to Pay Yen for Oil, Start Immediately (Update 3)”
Iran Focus ^ | July 13, 2007 | Megumi Yamanaka

Posted on 07/16/2007 2:52:16 AM PDT by Blue_Ridge_Mtn_Geek

ARTICLE SNIPPET: “Iran asked Japanese refiners to switch to the yen to pay for all crude oil purchases, after Iran’s central bank said it is reducing holdings of the U.S. dollar.”