Threat Matrix: December 2007

Fyi - Note: — I’ll be posting lightly starting tomorrow on TM probably to the New Year due to Christmas activities at home.

A blessed Christmas to all our TMers, Freepers and Lurkers.

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

http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=48454

“Commander Cites Relationship-Building as Key to NORTHCOM’s Focus”

By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service

ARTICLE SNIPPET: “WASHINGTON, Dec. 18, 2007 – U.S. Northern Command is cementing a vast network of relationships critical to protecting the homeland against attacks or natural disasters and providing a unified response should one occur, its commander said today.

Since it was established a year after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, Northern Command has formed critical partnerships with the Department of Homeland Security, about 60 other U.S. and Canadian federal agencies and the states, Air Force Gen. Victor E. “Gene” Renuart Jr. said.”

http://www.mnf-iraq.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=15919&Itemid=21

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Release No. 071218-01
December 18, 2007

“Iraqi National Police Emergency Response Unit Completes Training”

BAGHDAD

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1941607/posts

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http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Pakistan_quietly_releases_100_terror_suspects/articleshow/2634257.cms

“’Pak security agencies release 100 terror suspects’”
19 Dec 2007, 1520 hrs IST,PTI

ARTICLE SNIPPET: “NEW YORK: Pakistan’s military and intelligence agencies have quietly set free nearly 100 men suspected of links to terrorism, few of whom were charged, warning them to keep their detention a secret, a media report said on Wednesday.

Those released are some of the nearly 500 men presumed to have disappeared into the hands of the Pakistani secret agencies cooperating with Washington’s fight against terrorism since 2001, the report quoted human rights groups and lawyers in Islamabad as saying.

Pakistan’s intelligence agencies, which are apparently trying to avoid acknowledging an elaborate secret detention system, warned detainees not to speak to anyone about their detention, yet fragments of their experiences have filtered out through relatives and their lawyers, the report said.

No official reason has been given for the releases, but as pressure has mounted to bring the cases into the courts, the government has decided to jettison some suspects and spare itself the embarrassment of having to reveal that people have been held on flimsy evidence in the secret system, the New York Times reported.”

Fyi.

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1941611/posts?page=3#3

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http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1941611/posts

“Quake - 7.2 in Aleutians”
Posted on 12/19/2007 2:56:58 AM PST by djf

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1941612/posts

“Bali bombers’ final appeal rejected”
news.com.au ^ | 19th December 2007
Posted on 12/19/2007 2:59:45 AM PST by naturalman1975

blog:

http://www.thememriblog.org/iran/blog_personal/en/4183.htm
(”Source: ISNA, Iran, December 17, 2007”)

“Fourth Iran-Russia Joint Military Cooperation Commission To Meet In Tehran”
(December 18, 2007)

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blog:

http://www.thememriblog.org/blog_personal/en/4172.htm
(”Source: ISNA, Iran, December 17, 2007; Aftab, Iran, December 18, 2007”)

“Senior Iranian Official: We Won’t Stop Uranium Enrichment”
(December 18, 2007)

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blog:

http://www.thememriblog.org/iran/blog_personal/en/4181.htm
(”Source: ISNA, Iran, December 17, 2007”)

“American U Prof: ‘Iran’s Current Power Is Due To Its Resistance’”
(December 18, 2007)

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,317404,00.html
(AP)

“Nearly 7 in 10 Mexican Migrants Enters U.S. Illegally, Says Mexico”
Wednesday, December 19, 2007

MEXICO CITY

And a most blessed Christmas to you and all my FReeper FRiends.

placemark

http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,22951357-1702,00.html

“Man arrested with ‘Christmas Day’ bomb”
From correspondents in the Philippines
December 19, 2007 09:26pm

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http://www.jihadwatch.org/archives/019228.php

December 19, 2007
“Philippines: Jihadist arrested with ‘Christmas Day’ bomb”
(NEWS.com.au)

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Previously...

http://www.assistnews.net/Stories/2007/s07120107.htm

ASSIST NEWS SERVICE: “RADICAL SHEIKH SAYS CHRISTMAS DAY IS NOT OFF LIMITS FOR ATTACKS” by Jeremy Reynalds
(December 16, 2007)

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Previously...

http://frontpagemagazine.com/Articles/Read.aspx?GUID=8EAF007F-8FD8-4CD2-B77E-4D16B70A11DC

“Symposium: Holiday Jihad?”
By Jamie Glazov
FrontPageMagazine.com | Friday, December 14, 2007

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Smiling at you...a wonderful time of the year.

Fyi.

http://www.wtop.com/?nid=596&sid=1313089

“Fire Contained at Old Executive Office Building”
December 19, 2007 - 4:45pm

ARTICLE SNIPPET: “WHITE HOUSE - A fire at the Old Executive Office Building on the White House grounds is under control, and investigators are working to determine the cause.

“The fire is contained. It appears to be accidental at this time,” D.C. Fire and Rescue spokesman Alan Etter tells WTOP.

The fire occurred about 9:15 a.m.

Etter says firefighters saw smoke coming out of telephone or electrical equipment. There was no indication of terrorism.

All 1,700 people who work in the building were evacuated.”

RECAP and UPDATED:

INVESTIGATIVE PROJECT.org: "TERRORISM AND THE TIMES: WHAT'S NOT FIT TO PRINT" by Steven Emerson (December 18, 2007)

JIHAD WATCH.org (AP): Santa Ana, Calif. - "'Be careful (brother), there are agents everywhere looking for (Al-Qaida) recruiters or any other threat to national security'" (December 15, 2007)

US DOJ.gov: Washington - "TWO PLEAD GUILTY TO DOMESTIC TERRORISM CHARGES OF CONSPIRING TO ATTACK MILITARY FACILITIES, JEWISH TARGETS" (December 14, 2007)

JIHAD WATCH.org (AP): "'This incident is the first in a series of incidents to come in a plight to defend and propagate traditional Islam in its purity'" (December 14, 2007)

LAS VEGAS SUN (AP): "GUILTY PLEAS SEN IN CALIF. TERROR CASE" (December 14, 2007)

Link

http://truthusa.com/a/index.php?topic=785.0
IRAQ Updates

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http://truthusa.com/a/index.php?topic=784.0
Afghanistan Updates

Note: The following text is a quote:

http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/tw/tw_932.html

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

This information is current as of today, Wed Dec 19 2007 18:27:58 GMT-0800 (PST).

SAUDI ARABIA

December 19, 2007

This Travel Warning updates information on the security situation in Saudi Arabia and reminds U.S. citizens of recommended security precautions. It supersedes the Travel Warning issued June 14, 2007.

The Department of State urges U.S. citizens to consider carefully the risks of traveling to Saudi Arabia. The security threat level remains high due to the continued presence of terrorist groups, some affiliated with al Qaida, who may target Western interests, housing compounds, and other facilities where Westerners congregate. These terrorist groups may also target Saudi Government facilities and economic/commercial targets within the Kingdom.

In February 2007, four French tourists were killed in a terrorist incident on a desert track north of Medina. A gunman fired shots at the U.S. Consulate General in Jeddah in May 2006. In February 2006, terrorists attempted an attack on Saudi oil facilities in Abqaiq in the Eastern Province. An armed attack on the U.S. Consulate General in Jeddah on December 6, 2004, resulted in five deaths and eleven serious injuries among non-U.S. staff members.

Although extremists have not conducted a successful attack against Westerners since February 2007, the United States Mission in Saudi Arabia remains an unaccompanied post as a result of continued security concerns. The Department of State has approved limited family visitation by adult dependents, in part because of the significant progress Saudi security forces have made in counteracting the terrorist threat within Saudi Arabia as they continue to arrest and break up terrorist cells

From time to time, the U.S. Embassy and Consulates in Saudi Arabia may restrict travel of official Americans or suspend public services for security reasons. In those instances, the Embassy and Consulates will keep the local American citizen community apprised through the Warden System and make every effort to provide emergency services to U.S. citizens. Warden Messages can be found on the U.S. Embassy Riyadh website: http://riyadh.usembassy.gov.

American citizens who choose to visit Saudi Arabia are strongly urged to avoid staying in hotels or housing compounds that do not apply stringent security measures and are also advised to maintain good situational awareness when visiting commercial establishments frequented by Westerners. American citizens also are advised to keep a low profile; vary times and routes of travel; exercise caution while driving, entering or exiting vehicles; and ensure that travel documents and visas are current and valid.

The Department of State advises that under Saudi law, married women need the permission of their husbands to leave Saudi Arabia and all children require the permission of their fathers to exit the country. This is true regardless of nationality, and the U.S. Embassy has very limited ability to facilitate exit permission.

Updated information on travel and security in Saudi Arabia may be obtained from the Department of State by calling 1-888-407-4747 from within the U.S. or Canada or, from outside the U.S. or Canada on a regular toll line at 1-202-501-4444. For additional information, consult the Department of State’s Consular Information Sheet for Saudi Arabia, the Worldwide Caution Public Announcement, and Middle East and North Africa Public Announcement at http://travel.state.gov.

U.S. citizens who require emergency services may telephone the Embassy in Riyadh at (966) (1) 488-3800, the Consulate in Jeddah at (966) (2) 667-0080, or the Consulate in Dhahran at (966) (3) 330-3200.

Gibberish?
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Police Investigate Bomb Threat Outside Studio 5

CHICAGO — Police detonated a suspicious package Wednesday outside 401 N. Michigan Ave., the building in which WMAQ’s Studio 5 is located.

NBC5’s Alex Perez reported that the situation began around 2:30 p.m., and police detonated the object around 4 p.m. A massive police response was involved, with about 40 to 50 officers cordoning off the area.

Officials told Perez that a man carrying a briefcase walked into the Italian Trade Commission on the 30th floor of the building and annonced he had a bomb. The man was escourted out of the building, where he apparently dropped the briefcase.

A police spokesman described what happened:

“(The suspect) waited quite a while for that person to come back from lunch, when that person came back from lunch, he didn’t know who this person was, and the gentlemen started speaking gibberish ... he had a briefcase with him and said there was a bomb in the briefcase,” the police spokesman said.

Police took the man into custody and detonated the briefcase, which officials said contained wires, but no actual explosive device......
http://www.nbc5.com/news/14892383/detail.html?dl=headlineclick

Mohammed now second most popular boys' name in Britain

For the last 13 years Jack has been the most popular boys' name in the land.

But in multicultural Britain children named after the Muslim prophet Mohammed come a close second.

In a reflection of the increasing influence of Islam, figures released yesterday showed the most popular spelling of the name - Mohammed - had climbed five places to 17th in the annual list of top baby names.

However, when the seven other spellings of the name are taken into account, the total comes to 6,347 babies, making it the second most popular name of the year - up from 5,936 last year.

Although Jack topped the list with 6,772 babies, that figure fell 156 on last year, meaning if the trends were repeated next year, Mohammed and its variant spellings would be the most popular choice in England and Wales.

The other spellings are Muhammad, Mohammad, Muhammed, Mohamed, Mohamad, Muhamed and Mohammod.

The last national census in 2001 put the UK Muslim population at 1.6million, but this will have grown substantially in the past five years.

A look at jihad propaganda and analysis of the jihad propaganda. -Cindy

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www.ek-ls.org
www.ek-ls.org/forum/
up-p.net/uploads/742bc1ae52.gif
www.ek-ls.org/forum/showthread.php?t=107878

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http://threatswatch.org/rapidrecon/2007/12/allibi-alnafeer-trumpet-of-war/

“Al-Libi: Al-Nafeer (Trumpet of War)”

SNIPPET: “[Editor’s Note: We have begun posting the propaganda from al-Qaeda and others for the primary purpose of informing and educating both the general public and policy makers about the level to which the enemy has actively engaged in Information Warfare. Some of the messages contain graphic content. We at ThreatsWatch post these videos as evidence of the brutal nature of the enemy we face and the clear intent they have to kill those not aligned with them. Making the public aware of the nature of the enemy - as well as the often forgotten virtues of our own nation - is one of the primary missions of ThreatsWatch and the Center for Threat Awareness.]”

By Nick Grace on December 19, 2007 at 11:45 PM

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http://memriiwmp.org/content/en/blog_personal.htm?id=331
“Abu Yahya Al-Libi Calls on Muslim Youth to Join the Jihad”
(December 19, 2007)

Casey from IH is collecting questions for Zawahiri

If anyone would like to pose a question to al-Zawahri’s open forum,

Dec. 16/07 - Jan. 16/08

send questions to: “casey_britton@worldanalysis.net“

http://www.wincoast.com/forum/showthread.php?p=1205970#post1205970