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Locked on 08/01/2007 10:40:04 PM PDT by Religion Moderator, reason:
New Thread: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1875105/posts |
Posted on 07/01/2007 2:42:24 PM PDT by nwctwx
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UPDATE:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1861115/posts
“R.I. native Thomas Mooney, U.S. attaché in Cyprus, found dead”
The Providence Journal ^ | July 4, 2007 | Mark Arsenault
Posted on 07/05/2007 4:44:13 AM PDT by donna519
Yes, sometimes the best security is the security you don’t see.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/keyword?k=australia
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NOTE: The following post is a quote:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1861116/posts
Australia ‘must be ready to go it alone’
The Australian ^ | July 05, 2007 | Patrick Walters
Posted on 07/05/2007 4:48:38 AM PDT by Dundee
AUSTRALIA must be prepared to act alone on security issues in its own backyard with the defence force maintaining a high level of preparedness to meet whatever challenges the future brings, a new defence report says.
The defence force must retain the combat power and capacity to defeat any aggressor in its area of “paramount security interest:, the 2007 Defence Update concludes.
This area of interest is defined as including the Indonesian archipelago and the maritime approaches to Australia to the west, north and east, the islands of the South Pacific as far as New Zealand, and the nation’s island and southern territories down to Antarctica.
The update says Australia must have the ability to defend itself without relying on the combat forces of other countries.
“We must be the sole guarantor of our own security,” it says.
“It is not healthy for a country to become a dependent on another for its basic defence.”
The document predicts Australia will often be called on to take the lead in restoring security in the immediate region, including the South Pacific.
“We should not plan to rely on the security capabilities and resources of our friends and allies to assist in military operations in our immediate region.”...
(Excerpt) Read more at theaustralian.news.com.au ...
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Note: The following post is a quote:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1860927/posts
PM Howard to stand firm on Iraq
The Australian ^ | July 04 2007 | Patrick Walters
Posted on 07/04/2007 2:27:04 PM PDT by knighthawk
JOHN Howard will today rule out an imminent withdrawal of Australian combat troops from Iraq, staking an election-year position on staying the course in the Middle East.
The Prime Minister will spell out an unambiguous commitment to a long-term Australian military presence in Iraq and Afghanistan.
In a major security speech, Mr Howard will stress the stark consequences of a failure by the US and its allies to secure Iraq.
He will argue that the military coalition cannot allow weariness, frustration or political convenience to dictate strategy in Iraq.
(Excerpt) Read more at theaustralian.news.com.au ...
http://www2.irna.ir/en/news/view/menu-235/0707050752160440.htm
Today: Thursday July 05, 2007
Health officials issue high alert after bird flu returns to Germany
Berlin, July 5, IRNA
Germany-Bird flu-Crisis
(excerpt)
German health officials have issued a high alert after the deadly bird flu virus was detected scores of wild birds in four German states, news reports said Thursday.
Germany’s national crisis staff, comprised of senior federal and state officials, were due to meet during the day to assess the risks for a further outbreak of the disease which had already struck Germany last year.
German Agriculture Minister Horst Seehofer has instructed the country’s states not to ease their protective measures.
Since Sunday bird flu has also been discovered among wild birds swans in the German states of Bavaria, Saxony, Thuringia and Saxony- Anhalt. . .
News sent: 16:04 Thursday July 05, 2007
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1183459205961&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=15479§ionid=351020202
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/122979
Some interesting post on that update. Thanks Cindy.
Thanks for the first hand report. Please keep us updated.
Bomb squads shut down Military Trail between Summit and Forest Hill boulevards after a police dog indicated there may be an explosive device in a gold four-door Ford parked outside Auto Zone, according to the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office.
Sheriff's officers arrived on the scene at about noon to assist federal immigration officials. According to officials at the scene, a man wanted on an immigration warrant was arrested at about 11 this morning.
A sheriff's dog alerted its handler that the car had an explosive device, prompting the sheriff's office to call in the bomb squad. Its unknown whether there is a bomb. The road remained closed as of 2 p.m. The sheriff's office is using a robot to examine the vehicle.
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/localnews/content/local_news/epaper/2007/07/05/0705bombsquad.html
Egyptian police seize large cache of explosives in northern Sinai
July 5, 2007
EL ARISH, Egypt: Egyptian police found more than 1,200 kilograms (2,650 pounds) of TNT explosives Thursday buried in a northern desert on the Sinai Peninsula, a police officer said.
Capt. Mohammed Badr of the northern Sinai police force said officials discovered the explosives using a tip from local Bedouins and were investigating who had buried them. The TNT was found in 27 plastic sacks near al-Raouda village, some 100 kilometers (62 miles) west of the border with the Gaza Strip, he added.
Excerpted
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/07/05/africa/ME-GEN-Egypt-Explosives.php
A sinister twist emerged in the doctor bombings case last night when it emerged two of the UK suspects tried to get jobs in Australia.
Brothers Kafeel Ahmed and Sabeel Ahmed applied for jobs with the Western Australia Health Service but were rejected on character grounds. It was also revealed the pair were cousins of Gold Coast Hospital registrar Dr Mohammed Haneef, who remains in custody.
WA medical officials confirmed one of the brothers applied using different names on "several occasions". "We are co-operating with the AFP and doing everything we can to assist them," Australian Medical Association WA spokesman Geoff Dobbs said. It was also revealed by Channel 9 News that the second man arrested in Queensland, Mohammed Asif Ali, had also applied in WA and was rejected.
Excerpted
http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,22024288-5006009,00.html
Fake bomb eludes airport test
Wednesday, July 4, 2007
Federal inspectors were able to slip a fake bomb through a checkpoint at Albany International Airport during a test of the facility's Transportation Security Administration screeners, according to individuals familiar with the incident. The unannounced inspection by TSA officials took place early last week. The airport's security measures failed in five of seven tests, most of the problems occurring at the passenger checkpoint, the sources said.
In one test, TSA inspectors hid the components of a fake bomb in carry-on luggage that also contained a bottle of water. Passengers are prohibited from carrying containers holding more than three ounces of liquids, gels or aerosols through airport checkpoints. The screeners at Albany International confiscated the water bottle but missed the bomb. In all, the inspectors slipped four banned items through the main checkpoint during the test, sources said.
The TSA, which took over security at the nation's commercial airports after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, conducts random tests of its workforce on a regular basis and failures are common, officials said. Paul Varville, the TSA's security director at Albany International, could not be reached for comment. Ann Davis, a TSA spokeswoman, declined to discuss the circumstances of the covert test at Albany International. "We don't discuss the results because they tend to paint an inaccurate picture of the competency of our work force," she said. "The tests are designed to be incredibly difficult and TSA does anticipate a fair level of failure." Screeners who flunk the test routinely receive immediate training on the mistakes to improve their detection skills, according to officials familiar with the spot checks.
Last October, the Star-Ledger newspaper of Newark, citing unnamed federal security officials, reported screeners at Newark Liberty International Airport flunked 20 of 22 tests, including failing to detect bombs and guns in luggage at checkpoints. The TSA responded to the report by launching an internal investigation in which federal employees were interrogated about whether they had leaked the results, the newspaper said.
Not all of the TSA's checks are done at passenger checkpoints. In some instances, TSA inspectors try to gain access to restricted airport areas and see how many employees they can get by before someone asks to see or verify their credentials. At two airports in Houston last month, TSA officials swarmed the facilities as security and "behavior detection" officers conducted random screening of approximately 5,200 employees and passengers at boarding gates, according to the TSA.
Five employees with expired airport security badges were found as were two who did not have credentials. The expired badges were confiscated and the employees in violation were escorted off airport property, according to a TSA news release. Davis said security screeners who fail tests must undergo extra training in addition to annual recertification exams. "These covert tests conducted by security personnel simply augment their training regimen," Davis said.
Islamabad - The deputy leader of Pakistan's radical Lal Masjid (Red Mosque) Abdul Rashid Ghazi has said that he and several hundreds militants and students holed up in the complex would surrender provided the security forces did not storm the complex.
The about-face came as darkness fell in Islamabad after Pakistani security forces launched a full commando operation and blew holes in some of the outer walls. Speaking to local television, Ghazi said he was willing to hand over the mosque and seminaries to the government's federal religious board but that he and his family wanted to remain on the premises.
Nineteen people have been killed in three days of clashes at the mosque, where several hundred students remain. Interior Minister Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao Thursday said women were forcibly held inside Lal Masjid by armed students of the mosque. He told a news conference that some 50 to 60 hardcore armed students were still inside the mosque and seminary complex and they have hand grenades, petrol bombs and automatic guns.
A total of 1,146 students - 745 male and 401 female - have come out and surrendered before the law enforcing agencies until 2 p.m. local time, according to officials. Sherpao ruled out any talks with the Maulana Abdul Rashid Ghazi, deputy chief of Lal Masjid, who still remained inside the mosque. His brother Maulana Abdul Aziz was captured on Wednesday as he tried to escape the mosque clad in a burqa. Government officials have asked for total and unconditional surrender of the Lal Masjid personnel.
Earlier, after the passing of the deadline given to the Lal Masjid administration for surrender, security forces had cordoned off the mosque complex in Islamabad. The parents of female students in Lal Masjid, have appealed the president to further extend the deadline.
http://www.adnki.com/index_2Level_English.php?cat=Security&loid=8.0.432560604&par=0
Two Abu Sayyaf Commanders Killed In Southern Pillippines
July 5, 2007
Barangay Bohebesi - Two alleged commanders of al-Qaeda linked Muslim rebel group Abu Sayyaf were killed on Thursday in a gun battle with government troops in the southern Philippines, marine general Ramiro Alivio said. Alivio said the fighting erupted when marines ran into 20 Abu Sayyaf rebels in the town of Akbar in the island province of Basilan, 900 km south of Manila. The marines also seized two high-powered rifles, a machine gun and assorted live ammunition abandoned by the fleeing rebels, he said.
Alvio also stated that the slain alleged Abu Sayyaf commanders were identified as “Commander Panjang” and Ladji Mohammad. A military pursuit operation of the rebels was reported to have begun in forested and mountainous areas surrounding Akhbar, the Philippines News agency said.
Excerpted
http://www.adnki.com/index_2Level_English.php?cat=Security&loid=8.0.432533867&par=0
The nature of the conflict before us is about to change significantly in both nature and, potentially, scope. The question is not a matter of if, but when. For absent in any analysis of the situation in Pakistan is any discussion whatsoever of how President Pervez Musharraf can or will defeat (or enable the defeat of) al-Qaeda and the Taliban. And Musharraf is the only known trustworthy custodian of Pakistan's nuclear weapons arsenal.
Beyond Musharraf lie only question marks and uncertainties at best, which is a dire Western predicament for a nuclear power cohabitating with popular and powerful al-Qaeda and Taliban movements on its soil. And increasingly, the question regarding Musharraf's rule as the leader of Pakistan is most often discussed in terms of how long he can survive, not whether or not he can retain reliable control of both Pakistan's government and its military.
The Center for Security Policy's Salim Mansur raised the uncomfortable issue of a potential nuclear alliance between Iran and Pakistan. Few in the public governmental forum care to delve into the possible scenario of a fallen Pakistan suddenly a nuclear and military ally of the Islamic Republic of Iran. But such a scenario is very real, and one which few care to delve into for long. It’s not a pleasant exercise.
· Pakistan has nuclear weapons.
· It is also the current home to al-Qaeda and the Taliban, the epicenter of the global jihadiyun movement.
· The Taliban has recently taken to seeking its enemies by reportedly deploying suicide bomber teams to distant shores, including Germany, Canada, the United States and Great Britain.
· Al-Qaeda is considered to have surpassed its pre-9/11 capabilities since migrating to its sanctuaries in Pakistan in 2001-2002.
· The Taliban-al-Qaeda alliance fields an armed fighter force of over 200,000 men on Pakistani soil.
· The alliance has been steadily gaining territory ceded to them by Pervez Musharraf, as he has been incapable of defeating or even stemming the rising tide of Islamists inching ever closer to Islamabad.
· As Mansur states bluntly, Musharraf “has run the country for over seven years and his welcome has run out” among the general population, not just the Taliban-al-Qaeda alliance.
· And, again, Pakistan has nuclear weapons.
The UK’s Guardian newspaper quoted former CIA officer Art Keller, once assigned to Pakistan, who said the Pakistani army, paralyzed in part by internal division, is “huddling in their bases, doing nothing” in or near the territories controlled by the Taliban-al-Qaeda alliance. And fast approaching is the one year anniversary of the Taliban-al-Qaeda alliance's official control of South Waziristan, the first territory handed them by Musharraf in a treaty. Soon after follows the one year anniversary of the same for North Waziristan. Earlier this year, Bajour agency was ceded. And significant swaths of Pakistani territory are de facto if not formally controlled by the same, including the large North West Frontier Province, among others.
Meanwhile, US and NATO forces make occasional strikes on established al-Qaeda training camps and facilities inside Pakistan now fully operational beyond the pre-9/11 capabilities once maintained within Taliban-run Afghanistan. These facilities include entire 'graduating classes' of Taliban terrorists tasked with foreign suicide missions. The US and NATO makes strikes on al-Qaeda and Taliban terrorists and their facilities that the Pakistani military will not or cannot. These strikes sometimes include civilian victims that the terrorists intentionally embed themselves within to serve as either human shields to prevent strikes or propaganda value afterwards.
In the most recent strike inside Pakistan, ten civilians were killed and US and NATO forces were roundly condemned. Pakistani Foreign Office spokesperson Tasnim Aslam said, somewhat incredulously, that “Any action inside Pakistan’s territory has to be taken by its [Pakistan's] military.” But, clearly, the Pakistani military is not ordered, capable and/or motivated to strike against al-Qaeda and Taliban facilities and terrorists.
Internal politics within Pakistan also offers little cause for confidence. Musharraf's dismissal of Pakistani Supreme Court Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry created the perfect political storm. It touched off often violent protests nationwide where the Taliban, other Islamists and arrayed political opponents found common cause in calling for the end of Musharraf's rule as both president and Army Chief of Staff and new elections. Contrary to popular perception, al-Qaeda is not necessarily against free elections. That is, if it provides the vehicle to implement their brand of Sharia Law, which would by nature abandon the further usefulness or need for such silly Western incarnations. This can be seen in al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri's message of praise to Hamas after their bloody eviction of Fatah from Gaza. Zawahiri said, "Taking over power is not a goal but a means to implement God's word on earth," and urged them to implement Sharia Law in Gaza now that the obstacle of relatively secular foe Fatah has been forcefully dispensed in short order. And elections in Pakistan – without Musharraf's interference – may fall more overwhelmingly in favor of radical Islamists than many suspect.
In reaction to Britain's Knighting of Salman Rushdie, author of the book “Satanic Verses” and subject of an Iranian fatwa for blasphemy, the Pakistani Ulema Council responded by granting the title of Saif'Ullah (Sword of Allah) to Usama bin Laden. This should not be viewed as a perfunctory title which carries no more significance than the ceremonial Knighting of “Sir” Salman Rushdie. It is a significant and rare title granted few within Islam. There really is no Western equivalent to this. Christians formerly used the phrase "Defender of the Faith." But by the time of Henry VIII, if not before, it was of less significance. Even at its prime, as an honorific, it lacked the historical connotations that being Saif'ullah has to many Muslims - including those who are not jihadiyun. Muhammad called a select few warriors 'Saif'ullah.' And in the years that passed afterwards it was used even less often by his followers in large part because the companions that it had been used to refer to were so significant and considered pious and rightly guided. To use it on a terrorist is shameful and Muslims should be outraged at these supposed learned and pious men calling Usama bin Laden Saif'ullah.
Regardless of the events viewed, whether the compounding troubles of Pervez Musharraf, the steadily increasing percentage of Pakistani territory controlled by the Taliban-al-Qaeda alliance or the persistent rise in bin Laden's stature and popularity, the pattern and trend in Pakistan is both clear and persistent. The Taliban-al-Qaeda alliance continues to gain inertia, strength and power while Musharraf grows weaker and more ineffective in confronting and abating the rise of the Islamist terrorist power that will ultimately consume him and, thus, Pakistan and its nuclear arsenal.
This is the steadily deteriorating state of Pakistan. The best-case realistic scenario currently being offered going forward is not one that entails the defeat or even true combat with the Taliban-al-Qaeda alliance creeping ever closer to the levers of Islamabad's power. Instead, 'best-case' is one in which Musharraf no longer controls Pakistan and its nuclear arsenal, but a trustworthy General seizes control of at least the nuclear weapons. This, an uncertain question mark at best, is the good side of the coin, which unfortunately still includes a rising and more powerful al-Qaeda, just one sans nuclear weapons.
And when Pakistan as we know it falls, it will most likely become run by al-Qaeda and/or al-Qaeda aligned Islamists. An Islamist figure such as former ISI (Pakistani military intelligence) Director Hamid Gul can be expected to rise to grasp the official levers of power within Pakistan. A figure such as bin Laden will never publicly hold such official title, as an “al-Qaedastan” would draw too much international ire. But a perceived degree of separation through an aligned Pakistani figure such as Gul would likely provide at least initial survivability. Hamid Gul and Aslam Beg have openly called for a Pakistani military and nuclear alliance with the Iranian mullah regime. Further, Gul stated openly one month after the 9/11 al-Qaeda attacks that he envisioned “a future [Pakistani] Islamist nuclear power that would form a greater Islamic state with a fundamentalist Saudi Arabia after the monarchy falls." What's more, Gul also seeks to create an alliance of Muslim nations to directly and strategically counter the West's NATO alliance led by an Islamist Pakistan and Iran, sort of a Muslim NATO.
An al-Qaeda-guided if not al-Qaeda-controlled Pakistani nuclear power forming an international Islamist military alliance would significantly alter the scope of the conflict already at hand.
The question remains: How likely is this? The answer can likely be estimated from what is not discussed as much as what is discussed about the future of Pakistan within analytical circles.
Few if any analyses concern themselves with calculating any likelihood of a Pakistani defeat of the Taliban or al-Qaeda. Likewise, few if any discuss an American-led defeat of the same within Pakistani borders. But each adds its calculus for the life expectancy of the Musharraf regime. There is little alternative but to conclude that we are ceding the collapse of Pakistan and the rise of Islamists aligned with the Taliban-al-Qaeda alliance. The question appears no longer if, but rather when.
http://www.frontpagemagazine.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=28946
I was looking up Adnan’s different allias on myspace. Worth deeper look
http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=93991316
PBSO bomb squad searches car, finds nothing July 5 2007
WEST PALM BEACH -- Authorities closed part of a busy road while bomb experts searched a car driven by a foreign national after a police dog smelled something suspicious in the vehicle Thursday afternoon. No traces of a bomb or anything suspicious was found in the car in the parking lot of Auto Zone west of West Palm Beach, officials said.
Deputies closed a section of Military Trail between Summit and Forest Hill boulevards for about two hours so the Palm Beach Sheriff's Office bomb squad could search the four-door car. The search was conducted because a bomb-sniffing dog smelled something suspicious in a car driven by an Iranian man who federal immigration officials took into custody, authorities said. The man, whose name authorities did not release, was detained because his supervised release from jail was withdrawn, officials said.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/palmbeach/sfl-705bomb,0,4115150.story?coll=sfla-news-palm
Thank you drymans wife. I do attempt to keep a watch on a few myspace sites. I’ll add this one to the list.
ANAHEIM, Calif. - An Orange County Islamic group called on the FBI Tuesday to speed up a probe of a Muslim convert banned from an Irvine mosque, where members allege he preferred to discuss jihad rather than Islam.
Craig Monteilh, who started calling himself Farouk Monteilh in September when he began studying at the Islamic Center of Irvine, was served with a restraining order Friday based on allegations made by members of the mosque. While the Council on American-Islamic Relations in Anaheim commended local Muslims for reporting Monteilh, it urged FBI agents to finish their probe to protect those who "courageously" stepped forward to make their reports.
Since the reports surfaced about a month ago, CAIR-LA said it has gotten complaints that Monteilh had tried to intimidate and threaten those who reported him. The FBI does not comment on current investigations. According to CAIR, the FBI had not interviewed Monteilh as of last week.
CAIR-LA expressed concern that allowing threats or intimidation to go unchallenged might discourage people from reporting suspicious terror-related activities. Monteilh could not be reached for comment.
The fall of Pakistan would be terrifying. We need to give Musharraf all possible support.
Good post, thanks.
Just Another myspace
Talking about Oct surprise 06
http://forum.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=messageboard.viewThread&entryID=1520378
Thank you dryman’s wife, but I don’t have a myspace account.
Thank you Oorang.
This is interesting.
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