Threat Matrix: 2010

Freerepublic.com ^ | 12/31/2009 | Freeper TMers

[Velveeta]

Al Qaeda’s Yemen Connection, America and the Global Islamic Jihad

December 30, 2009 — The attempt to destroy Northwest Airlines flight 253 en route from Amsterdam to Detroit on Christmas Day underscores the growing ambition of al Qaeda's Yemen franchise, which has grown from a largely Yemeni agenda to become a player in the global Islamic jihad in the last year. Since merging with the al Qaeda franchise in Saudi Arabia last January and renaming itself Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), it has stepped up operations in Yemen itself, struck into Saudi Arabia, and now operates on the global stage. The weak Yemeni government of President Ali Abdallah Salih, which has never fully controlled the country and now faces a host of growing problems, will need significant American support to defeat AQAP.

Al Qaeda has long been active in Yemen, the original homeland of Osama bin Laden's family, and one of its first major terror attacks was conducted in Aden in 2000, when an al Qaeda cell nearly sank the USS Cole. A year ago, the al Qaeda franchises in Saudi Arabia and Yemen merged after the Saudi branch had been effectively repressed by the Saudi authorities under the leadership of Deputy Interior Minister Prince Muhammad bin Nayif. The new AQAP showed its claws last August, when it almost assassinated the prince with a suicide bomber who had passed through at least two airports on the way to his attempt on Nayif.

(snip)

The attack on the Amsterdam-Detroit flight also shows that al Qaeda remains obsessed with striking the American airline industry, a target it has gone after repeatedly since 1999. If AQAP has now been told by the al Qaeda core leadership to take on the job, we can probably assume that other al Qaeda franchises in North Africa, Iraq, Southeast Asia and elsewhere have also been pressed to attack.

The Brookings Institution

Threat Matrix:
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National Commission on Terrorism: 1999

Ian Livingston

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"No matter where you live in the world, this is a message that bears repeating: Your assistance is needed to prevent terrorist acts." From TM'er and Freeper ~appalachian_dweller~
Submit Information Online: FBI Tips & Public Leads
CDC ::::: CIA ::::: DHS ::::: DOJ ::::: DOD ::::: FBI ::::: NSA
Government Web Sites			Homeland Security Weekly		Nuclear Threat Initiative
	Most Wanted Terrorists		Terror-Alert.com		NCI: Nuclear Terrorism
	FBI: Seeking Information		Global Crisis Watch		IR and Security Network
	Are you Ready?: Ready.Gov		SOFIR		World Policy Institute
	CDC: Preparedness/Response		Little Green Footballs	Threat Matrix Related
	Defense Dept. War on Terror		Terror Base UK		Terrorism Knowledge Base
	U.S. Immigration & Customs		The Blotter		Terror Information Bank
	DOJ: Combating Terrorism		Middle East Live Daily Thread		South Asia Terrorism Portal
	US-Cert: Current Activity	Think Tanks			Terrorist Scorecard
News & Information			The Terrorism Research Center		Iraq Pipeline Watch
	IPN - Fire & Police Paging		The Jamestown Foundation		National Security Archive
	MEMRI | MEMRI TV		The Brookings Institution		Islamic Dictionary
	The Counterterrorism Blog		Council on Foreign Relations		IACSP Terrorism/Antiterrorism
	Jihad Watch		SITE Institute	Maps
	GlobalTerrorAlert.com		CSIS		Terrorist Network in U.S. Map
	LauraMansfield.com		RAND Corporation		Recent Disasters: Worldwide
	Internet Haganah		International Crisis Group		Nuclear Weapon Effects Calc.
	Topix.net: Terrorism News		The Heritage Foundation		Nuclear Terrorism: Blast Maps
	Faith Freedom International		Foreign Policy Institute		FEMA Nuclear Fallout Map
	TrackingTerrorism.com		Center for Defense Information		U.S. Nuclear Targets Map
	DEBKAfile		The Cato Institute		Global Incident Map
	TerroristWarning.com		Hudson Institute	Pay Sites
	HomelandSecurityUS.net		Homeland Security Institute		Strategic Forecasting
New Links in Italics

"America Supports You" spotlights what Americans are doing in support of the military all across the land, encourages others to thank the troops and allows all to tell their stories by giving voice and visibility to their efforts.

Being prepared is a good thing, no matter where one lives; no matter what alert level we are on.
From TM'er and Freeper ~Cindy~

Intelligence is the best weapon against terrorism.
National Commission on Terrorism: 1999

Ian Livingston

[JustPiper]

Ian Oh Ian! I’m so sorry about your mother Ian. I stopped celebrating NYE because my mom passed 20 minutes before midnite. 12 years later I still can’t cope. I go under the covers before 11pm

PLEASE post your article link here honey. We are so proud of you. We watched you grow up here and accomplish SO MUCH!

This is ALWAYS your home Ian! We all disappear for various reasons. No one is mad when we come back just glad!

You still with Brookings? In DC?

[hennie pennie]

>>>> "The most troublesome Somali immigrant community now is Lewiston , Maine." <<<<

My goodness, thank you for posting that, I had NO idea. You see, in so many articles I've read there is some neighborhood in Minneapolis or the Twin Cities that is where the FBI is investigating about 20 youths, actually factually young youths who vanished and went to Somalia.

I knew there were lots of Somalis in Maine, but had NO idea that it is considered the real 'hot' spot.

YIKES.

Thank you so much for the link to this website.

[azishot]

As I see it, it’s a very healthy obsession!

Is the Girls Scout motto *Be Prepared*...or is that the Boy Scouts’? Whatever, it still applies!

[Candor7]

My pleasure Hennie...and happy New Year to you too!

Soon we will have these communities all over our country, and we will have to take them back AFTER we get rid of Obama.

[nwctwx]

Thanks for the kind words. It happened at the very beginning of the year... I was sort of in a fog after that till a few months ago. She was much to young, only 56.

I do wish she was still around, I know she would be happy with how things have progressed.

I got my first “official” quote in the media a few weeks ago — it was pretty exciting!

http://www.csmonitor.com/World/2009/1215/Pakistan-suicide-attacks-spike-but-overall-attacks-are-down

Again, I do feel really bad for disappearing. I wanted to stop in during the Zazi saga but was worried people would be angry that I left without notice. I guess I should have known that TM folks are kind and forgiving in addition to so much else.

The piece will be in the op-ed section, it covers all three wars and the progress — or lack thereof in each.

My main projects are indices of each country... I just transitioned into the job during the last month or so but have been wrapped up in it since October.

It is interesting getting paid to go to work and read things I am fascinated by and also sobering to have the daily reminders of how much has been given to try to create a safer world.

http://www.brookings.edu/foreign-policy/afghanistan-index.aspx
http://www.brookings.edu/foreign-policy/pakistan-index.aspx
http://www.brookings.edu/saban/iraq-index.aspx

[JustPiper]

[nwctwx]

Thanks. :)

It is troubling to see the increase in both domestic and foreign terrorists trying to attack us recently. It’s probably only a matter of time before one gets through.

[nwctwx]

Sorry to hear about your loss, it seems 2009 was not the best year for many people.

Regarding the NYT.. my dad said the same thing! Our research is pretty unbiased I think, we mostly just look for the facts and report what they mean.

[nwctwx]

Hi JP! It is rough, the 1 yr anniversary has me thinking about it a lot again. I guess I try to take solace in the fact that it has happened to many people, and I try to focus on the good times and what she taught me.

I am still in DC and still with Brookings. As noted, I recently became a Senior Research Assistant, working for our top defense analyst.

I will be sure to stay in touch as much as possible.

[Rushmore Rocks]

My Mom was 84. Not quite the same. You Mom was way too young. I know you miss her terribly, but comfort yourself with her memories. She raised a really fine son.

Welcome home.

[hennie pennie]

Thank you SO much for the links. And for where to find your article this Sunday in the NY Times. Can't wait!!! Waaaaaay toooo exciting! Maybe we'll go somewhere for Sunday morning coffee, and let others overhear us chatter about Our Friend Ian whose article appeared today.... ta da dah...

LOL

Your mom was way too young today; however, do remember that we are all headed to precisely the same destination, but that some people have clocks which are ticking faster than the rest of us --- indeed, I often believe in that old adage that the GOOD, they die young; it seems to happen too often that way. I lost my two longest term friends last year, it is a SHOCK to the system, even when one knows beforehand, when it is not a sudden out of the blue death.

PLEASE be sure to take care of YOU, and I hope that you'll have time to stop by occasionally --- I really miss reading your contributions on the WEATHER threads, you got me interested in meteorology in my old age,LOLOL

[caww]

Well I didn’t miss you a bit having just come on board this week...so Hello! Cw here...and what a great place to be kept abreast of things as they develope.

There will also be times I will not be as active on this site as I am now...hopefully people here understand that life gets in the way of our best intentions...Freepers above all else understand this I think.

So Hello again, looking forward to seeing your posts as you jump in and out! Life can make one feel like a ping-pong ball..so we bounce do we not?

[JustPiper]

Officials Claim Second Man Unrelated To Christmas Attack - Bomber’s accomplice being protected? Multiple eyewitness accounts contradicted

A day earlier:

Officials Admit Second Man Detained As More Witnesses Emerge - Two more eyewitnesses contradict FBI’s denial that Abdulmutallab had possible accomplices

[nwctwx]

The whole thing sounds like a test run (well, im sure he hoped it would work) to me. They did the same thing before the foiled Bojinka plot. The good news is these guys are mostly inept it seems.

[JustPiper]

Makes me stop and think hard, your Mom was my age. Last Dec 29th, my lifelong friend and her hubby, friend since our hippy-dippy days in CA (30 years) (I got stories lol) both were killed in a car wreck on their way to their local DAV, as both were very active. He a VET from ‘Nam and her a chaplin. I don’t like the period of 12-29 to 2-1 very much at all. Two of my brother’s died the beginning of Feb., as did my Dad. I’d like to say it gets easier, it doesn’t BUT the emotions get more manageable. She is lucky you loved her so. My son doesn’t even miss me since I left Chicago

[JustPiper]

My mom was 83 and it sucks being an orphan, even at our ages

[JustPiper]

I lost my two longest term friends last year

This is too coincidental!!!

[JustPiper]

The good news is these guys are mostly inept it seems.

So far...

[JustPiper]

Pssst... ICU

[JustPiper]

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Threat Matrix: Daily Terror Threat - Thread 5