Free Republic

TERRORISM: Al Qaeda Group Busted in Italy February 2, 2003: During a routine sweep for illegal immigrants, Italian police rounded up 28 Pakistanis suspected of being terrorists. Police found two pounds of dynamite, 165 feet of explosive fuse and various detonators, as well as hundreds of forged documents and maps of metropolitan Naples. Authorities said "sensitive targets" were circled with a pen but would not elaborate, while Italian news reports said the possible targets included the U.S. Consulate in Naples and nearby NATO bases. One map was to the town of Bagnoli (outside Naples), where the NATO southern headquarters is...

US General Tommy Franks, the man running the war in Iraq, flew into Britain on Friday for talks with the head of the UK's armed forces. Gen Franks held a private meeting with Chief of the Defence Staff Admiral Sir Michael Boyce. The two discussed "on-going issues to do with the Iraq operation", a Ministry of Defence spokesman said. He did not meet Prime Minister Tony Blair or other members of the Government. News of the General's visit came from US Central Command in Qatar. "He's meeting senior officials and coalition troops," a spokesman said. "It was a last-minute thing...