Threat Matrix: February 2008

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[nwctwx]

Is the U.S. Failing in Afghanistan?

It was malice in wonderland at the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Thursday as Bush Administration envoys insisted things are getting better in Afghanistan, while angry lawmakers from both parties cited facts and figures showing just the opposite. Even the senior Republican on the panel, Senator Richard Lugar, found the Administration's claims wanting. "I'm not sure that we have a plan for Afghanistan," he said.

Long seen as the "forgotten war" eclipsed by Iraq in U.S. priorities, Afghanistan is in the Washington spotlight this week with the release of three independent reports concluding that without a change in U.S. policy there, the erstwhile sanctuary of Osama bin Laden would remain a failed state. Read More

	Why the Taliban Feel Confident
	Top US Officer Lauds al-Qaida Death
	US Air Strike Signals al-Qaida Onslaught

Threat Matrix:
February 2008

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[Cindy]

Note: The following text is a quote:

http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=48878

error Tactics Backfire on Al Qaeda in Iraq, Colonel Says

By Gerry J. Gilmore
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Feb. 6, 2008 – Al Qaeda’s acts of murder, extortion and kidnapping to raise money and intimidate Iraqi citizens is backfiring on the terrorist group, a senior military officer posted in Iraq said today.
A recently released video shows Iraqi commandos rescuing an 11-year-old Iraqi boy during a Jan. 29 operation conducted northeast of Baghdad, said Air Force Col. Donald J. Bacon, chief of special operations and intelligence information in Multinational Force Iraq’s Strategic Communications Division.

Three days earlier, the youth had been taken for ransom by al Qaeda agents, Bacon said. The kidnappers had demanded $100,000, then $80,000, from the boy’s parents to secure his release. The kidnappers had threatened to behead the youth if they weren’t paid. The boy’s father, a mechanic, couldn’t afford to pay the kidnappers.

Intelligence information led Iraqi forces to the kidnappers’ hideout, where the boy was safely rescued, Bacon said. The al Qaeda kidnapping cell is linked to 26 previous abductions, he added.

Al Qaeda in Iraq conducts kidnappings “as one of their sources of income in Iraq,” Bacon explained. “They also use extortion,” he added, such as when shopkeepers or other citizens are threatened by terrorists demanding “protection” money. However, “these tactics have clearly backfired,” Bacon pointed out, noting citizens are “appalled” by the terrorists’ thuggish acts.

Citizens’ groups have emerged to help with security across Iraq “because of the rejection of al Qaeda and the tactics that have been used,” Bacon said.

Despicable terrorist-performed acts of kidnappings, extortion and murder do not “play well” among the Iraqi populace, Bacon said.

A terrorist-made video captured during a Dec. 4 anti-insurgent operation conducted between Baqouba and Baghdad that depicts 11- to 12-year-old Iraqi boys being trained to commit terrorist acts is another example of how low al Qaeda will go, Bacon said. And the Feb. 1 double-suicide bombing conducted in Baghdad by two young women that killed more than 70 people has outraged Iraqi citizens, he added.

Investigations of the bombings have revealed that the two women were actually girls around age 17, he noted, both of whom seem to have suffered from Down syndrome.

Kidnapping 11-year-old children for ransom and threatening to behead them, training pre-teenage children how to commit terrorist acts, and using mentally disabled young women as suicide bombers reflect al Qaeda’s depraved ideology, Bacon said.

“I think the acts of al Qaeda have undermined their support” among Iraqis, Bacon said. For example, violence across Iraq has decreased 60 percent over the past year, he noted.

While loathsome al Qaeda in Iraq acts may not presage imminent collapse of the group, they do represent desperate tactics that are being adopted because of continuing pressure applied by U.S. and Iraqi security forces and the contributions of concerned local citizens groups, the colonel said.

“We do think these acts are desperate,” Bacon said. With the improved security situation in Baghdad, “it is harder for al Qaeda to get in car bombs,” he noted.

[Cindy]

OPINION:

Anyone with information regarding terrorism, terrorists are encouraged to contact the authorities.

As a housewife, I am unable to verify terrorist cell info, drymans wife.

[drymans wife]

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,328966,00.html

Muslims Protest Wikipedia Images of Muhammad

Wednesday, February 06, 2008

Online encyclopedia Wikipedia has again stirred up controversy — this time over a biographical entry on the prophet Muhammad.

Nearly 100,000 people worldwide have signed a Web-based petition asking Wikipedia to remove all depictions of the Prophet from its English-language entry, viewable here.

“I request all brothers and sisters to sign this petitions so we can tell Wikipedia to respect the religion and remove the illustrations,” the creator of the petition at The Petition Site asks.

snip...

[drymans wife]

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,328850,00.html

Toxins in Fish Sicken At Least 28 in Several U.S. States

Wednesday, February 06, 2008

Several outbreaks of ciguatera fish poisoning have been confirmed in consumers who ate fish harvested in the northern Gulf of Mexico, the Food and Drug Administration said this week.

The FDA said that fish such as grouper, snapper, amberjack and barracuda represent the most significant threat to consumers. They feed on fish that have eaten toxic marine algae. The toxin is stable in the tissue of living fish and does them no harm. But larger carnivores have higher concentrations of the toxin in their tissues. As a result, the greatest risk of poisoning for humans comes from the largest fish.

Symptoms of ciguatera poisoning include nausea, vomiting, vertigo and joint pain. In the most serious cases, neurological problems can last for months or even years. Several outbreaks of the illness were confirmed in Washington, D.C., and St. Louis, the FDA said. Overall, there have been at least 28 reported cases across the country, with the first case being reported in late November.

The fish linked to the illnesses were harvested near the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary, an area of 56 square miles in the northwestern Gulf. The FDA recommends that processors not purchase fish harvested near the sanctuary.

snip...

[drymans wife]

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,329006,00.html

Report: Ahmadinejad’s Dogs Upset Iranian Religious Leaders

Wednesday, February 06, 2008

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s decision to acquire four German guard dogs has come under scrutiny from religious leaders, Adnkronos International reported Tuesday.

Ayatollahs in Qom, Iran, are upset that the leader can have the dogs, brought to Tehran at a cost of approximately $161,040 each, when ordinary citizens are barred from taking their own domestic pets on the streets because Islam considers dogs to be impure, Adnkronos International reported.

snip...

[Cindy]

“What kind of world are we leaving to future generations?”

That’s a thoughtful question and I think everyone should ponder it
often.

[drymans wife]

I know!!! The saddest part is the rest of our nation
is in a state of denial.

[Cindy]

Speaking of QOM, recap:

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

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1952766/posts

“Iran: AIDS Rate Doubles In The Holy City Of Qom”
adnkronosinternational ^ | January 11, 2008 | adnkronosinterantional
Posted on 01/12/2008 4:41:54 PM PST by DogByte6RER

#

Speaking of Ahmadinejad...

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

He must be feeling a bit paranoid if he’s acquired those “impure” 4 German guard dogs.

[Oorang]

Thanks much for the info all4one. This article has a few more details:

Police seek trespasser on land near Oyster Creek nuclear plant
Wednesday, February 6, 2008

LACEY TOWNSHIP - Authorities searched Tuesday for a man they say has been lingering suspiciously near the Oyster Creek nuclear power plant during the past few days.

Ocean Township police Detective Sgt. George Thompson said Tuesday that State Police called on the department's K-9 unit to assist troopers and the National Guard with a search for a man wandering in a wooded area between the Garden State Parkway and the plant. The man was at least a half-mile from the secure area of the plant, according to plant spokeswoman Beth Rapczynski. He was spotted by one of several National Guardsmen who regularly patrol the outskirts of the plant's 860-acre tract plant, Rapczynski said. State Police Sgt. Stephen Jones said troopers were on the scene until 5:30 p.m., but gave no further details.

Waretown police provided two ATVs that were dispatched to help around 3 to 5:30 p.m., Thompson said. "Apparently, they've been dealing with this guy for couple days," Thompson said. The man has not broken laws other than trespassing on power plant property, Thompson said. The trespasser was not believed to be armed, he said. The National Guard's public affairs office and the Lacey Township police, who also assisted in the search, did not return calls for comment.

http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/news/local/ocean/story/7533624p-7436188c.html

And here:

UPDATE: Oyster Creek now saying suspicious person was never on plant-controlled property

[Cindy]

There are a lot of concerned parents and others in the USA, but their voices are not always heard (courtesy of the lame-stream-media).

THE GOOD NEWS is there is FreeRepublic.com, the blogs, the independent news services, the internet, etc.

In the end, Good wins over evil.
(I read The Book.)

[Cindy]

Thank you all4one and thanks Oorang for the update.

[drymans wife]

“He must be feeling a bit paranoid if he’s acquired those “impure” 4 German guard dogs.”

LOLOLOLOL

[drymans wife]

And “It is the Best Book of All”.

[Oorang]

You're welcome Cindy.

Bin Laden son named al-Qaeda heir
6 Feb. 2008

Saana - Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden's youngest son Hamza is being groomed to take over from his father as leader of the terror network, says former Islamist Yemeni militant, Muhammad Sayd. Sayd told the Arab satellite TV network Al-Arabiya that the 16-year old had been selected for the role.

"Young Hamza bin Laden, son of Osama, has been chosen to lead the al-Qaeda organisation in the future," said Sayd, who has been close to the al-Qaeda leader in the past. "I have met Hamza several times and the last time was 20 days before the '9/11' attacks. He is a very religious boy, he learnt the Koran by heart at a young age and has been educated in Jihad (Holy War)," Sayd told Al-Arabiya, the Saudi-backed based in the United Arab Emirates. "When I met him, he already knew who to used light weapons and how to escape from guerrilla attacks," Sayd said, adding that Hamza writes poetry.

Hamza is well placed to take over his father's job in the future, Sayd said. "He is the only son by Osama' s Saudi wife, and has always had a different education from the other children," he said. Sayd claimed Hamza is used to a spartan existence and is able to face the difficulties of such living conditions. "He loved the simple life, unlike his brother Omar, who decided to return to Saudi Arabia [the bin Ladens' homeland] and has now married an Englishwoman," he said. "I have also met Omar... he is different from his brother and never liked the spartan life. He chose to return home to Saudi Arabia to be with his uncles."

The alleged presence of another of bin Laden's sons, 28-year-old Saad in Afghanistan is no obstacle to the succession of Hamza, according to Sayd, who claims Saad has never been considered his father's heir to al-Qaeda.

Hamza's name has been in the news in recent days, after Britain's Sunday Times newspaper published excerpts from slain Pakistani opposition leader Benazir Bhutto's memoirs in which she accused him of being one of the people who were seeking to assassinate her. In the posthumously published memoirs, Bhutto, revealed that Pakistan's president Pervez Musharraf and 'a foreign Muslim government' warned her that four suicide bombing squads would try to kill her.

Bhutto named Hamza bin Laden, and al-Qaeda linked Pakistani militant commander Baitullah Mehsud, radicals from Islamabad's Red Mosque, and a Karachi-based militant group. Bhutto was murdered on 27 December last year in a bomb and gun attack in the Pakistani garrison town of Rawalpindi. The Pakistani authorities have claimed Mehsud is behind her killing, which is being investigated by British and Pakistani intelligence. Sayd, whose battle name is Abu al-Fada, has been close to Osama bin Laden in the past, and left Afghanistan, where western intelligence agencies believe bin Laden may be hiding, just before al-Qaeda's 11 Sept. 2001 attacks on the US.

http://www.adnkronos.com/AKI/English/Security/?id=1.0.1850053394

[Velveeta]

5 Cables now...

Purely coincidence.
/s

[Velveeta]

I hope so too, Cindy.
The enemies are among us, that’s for sure.

[Velveeta]

Disturbing. Thanks, All4one.

[Velveeta]

You’re most welcome.

[Velveeta]

Indeed. It would be good to know the rest of the story.

[Cindy]

Yes, Hamza would do nicely as a terrorist and no one should think of this young man as a child. They should think of him as an adult terrorist and deal with him as a terrorist.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/olmedia/1640000/images/_1644044_hamza150.jpg

#

Then there are other young children...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hs8yQHyOloI