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Threat Matrix: Daily Terror Threat - Thread Nineteen
World Tribune ^

Posted on 09/11/2004 12:09:10 AM PDT by nwctwx


September 11, 2001
-Never Forget, Never Surrender-
Threat Matrix: Daily Terror Threat
Thread Nineteen : 9/11/04
Click to Search

The Threat Matrix

The title refers to a daily report given to the president of the United States detailing the most serious terrorist threats against the country. To tackle those threats, the government has formed a top-notch task force to infiltrate the terror cells and cut off the danger.

"Every morning, the president receives a list of the top ten terrorist threats - this list is known as the threat matrix."

We here at FR are trying to be in conjunction with the daily reports around the world that involve threats. We try to provide a storehouse of information that takes hours of research.

You be the Judge and Get Informed!

Image Created by : TheCabal & JustPiper's Son

"I will never cower before any master nor bend to any threat."


Muslim group takes responsibility for 9-11: 'We are so sorry'
 

This September 11 marks the third unforgettable anniversary of the worst mass murder in American history.

After September 11, many in the Muslim world chose denial and hallucination rather than face up to the sad fact that Muslims perpetrated the 9-11 terrorist acts and that we have an enormous problem with extremism and support for terrorism. Many Muslims, including religious leaders, and "intellectuals" blamed 9-11 on a Jewish conspiracy and went as far as fabricating a tale that 4000 Jews did not show up for work in the World Trade Center on 9-11. Yet others blamed 9-11 on an American right wing conspiracy or the U.S. Government which allegedly wanted an excuse to invade Iraq and "steal" Iraqi oil.

 


TOPICS: News/Current Events; War on Terror
KEYWORDS: 911; september112001; terror; thirdanniversary; threat; threatmatrix
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
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To: All

Muslim board to open ‘new chapter’
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1041007/asp/nation/story_3851963.asp

...excerpt...

Oct. 6: The All India Muslim Personal Law Board will meet in Lucknow on Sunday to chalk out the agenda for its December conclave in Kochi that aims to usher in a “new chapter” for the community.

The agenda is expected to revolve around the central role of knowledge in Islam, honesty, hard work and personal integrity, and the “inclusive” and tolerant outward-looking character of the religion.

Under Maulana Rabey Nadvi’s chairmanship, the board hopes to provide centrality to the “Islah-e-Maishra (reforms in Islamic society)”, a report by Munger-based scholar Maulana Wali Rahmani, also the board secretary.

The draft report focuses on improvement in personal conduct, reforms in marriage/divorce and a complete ban on dowry and extravagance.

Board insiders said if liberals and reformists had their way, the Kochi conclave would see the beginning of a “new chapter” that emphasises “wisdom, practicality and harmony” of Islam.

“Islam encourages moderation or a balanced approach to life. Yet, it does not mean straying from the fundamentals of the holy Quran and the example and sayings of the Prophet,” a board office-bearer told The Telegraph.

Call it the 9/11 or Beslan effect, the dominant mood among Muslim clergy and scholars is to shed the stereotypical image of the religion being associated with violence and extremism. So the board wants to focus on social reforms.

Asked if this would include the controversial issue of family planning, a board representative said “yes and no”.


3,381 posted on 10/06/2004 11:03:17 PM PDT by nwctwx
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To: All

Agents meet with Muslim community
http://www.sptimes.com/2004/10/06/Tampabay/Agents_meet_with_Musl.shtml

TAMPA - Federal agents held a town hall meeting Tuesday with members of Tampa Bay's Arab and Muslim community, giving them warning about an expected increase in interviews and investigations in coming weeks to thwart any possible terrorist attack near the elections.

FBI officials have organized similar meetings throughout the country, trying to spread the word that they need help uncovering plots. "We cannot do this alone," said Carl Whitehead, special agent in charge of the Tampa division, which oversees 18 counties in Central Florida.

The initiative, called the Fall Threat Task Force, is an attempt to gather information from members of the community who might have witnessed or heard about suspicious activity, Whitehead said during the meeting.

The meeting was held Tuesday night at the Embassy Suites at the University of South Florida. About 20 community members from Hillsborough, Pinellas, Pasco and Sarasota counties attended, as did about a dozen FBI agents.

Whitehead said he wanted to assure area residents that Muslims and Arabs were not being targeted, adding that agents will question storage business owners of any background, for example, if they think chemicals or bombs are being stashed at their site. Interviews will "not be based on religious or ethnic background," he said.

What will they be based on? community members asked.

Whitehead said agents will make that decision based on whether their sources lead them to believe that a resident has "useful" information to give them.

Community members asked for more specifics.

"What type of help are you seeking from our community?" asked Ahmed Bedier, spokesman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations.

"We're just as committed to making sure our country and our state are safe," he said.

One way of helping would be to alleviate fears among community members that the FBI is not conducting an immigration roundup, Whitehead said. Also, ask people to step forward if they know something. And they should report hate crimes, which Whitehead said his office would vigorously investigate.

Community members asked about charities, to which many of them donate. How do they know they won't be under investigation if the charity later is found to be contributing to terrorism groups?

FBI officials said they should make sure that the charity is not listed on the State Department's list of terrorism organizations. They still could be questioned, however, if the charity is later found to be giving funds to terrorists, just so agents can be sure they didn't know where the money was going.

Other members said they wanted more answers about how they could learn to trust the government based on policies and comments by members of the Bush administration they found racist and offensive.

"There's a big mistrust in the Muslim community," said Haitham Barazanji, of St. Petersburg with the Islamic Society of Pinellas County.

"We're trying to help, that's why we're here today," Whitehead said.

After the meeting, Bedier said he thought the town hall gathering was a step in the right direction. But it's not enough.

"We want real dialogue," he said. "Not just damage control."


3,382 posted on 10/06/2004 11:05:26 PM PDT by nwctwx
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To: freeperfromnj
Here's a really broad, generic opinion.

Gang graffiti is posted either on a building or bridge in
most cases to spread a message and/or mark a territory.
It is not uncommon to find gangsters with web pages
and graffiti postings online.

In this case, could it be the graffiti was posted to incite
feelings of fear?
3,383 posted on 10/06/2004 11:06:20 PM PDT by Cindy
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To: All; Honestly; ExSoldier; jerseygirl; Godzilla; JustPiper

Pakistan feared as source of nuclear terror
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=story_7-10-2004_pg7_6

Washington: Pakistan and Russia have been called “nations of greatest concern” as potential sources of nuclear weapon or fissile material leaks to terrorists.

A new report by the Congressional Research Service (CRS) on nuclear terrorism said, “The fear regarding Pakistan is that some members of the armed forces might covertly give a weapon to terrorists or that, if President Musharraf were overthrown, an Islamic fundamentalist government or a state of chaos in Pakistan might enable terrorists to obtain a weapon.” While, the report concedes, it would be difficult for terrorists to mount a nuclear attack on a US city, such an attack is plausible and would have catastrophic consequences, in one scenario killing over a half-million people and causing damage of over $1 trillion. “Terrorists or rogue states might acquire a nuclear weapon in several ways. The nations of greatest concern as potential sources of weapons or fissile materials are widely thought to be Russia and Pakistan.”

Russia, the report notes, has many tactical nuclear weapons, which tend to be lower in yield but more dispersed and apparently less secure than strategic weapons. It also has much highly enriched uranium (HEU) and weapons grade plutonium, some said to have inadequate security. Many experts believe that technically sophisticated terrorists could, without state support, fabricate a nuclear bomb from HEU. However, opinion is divided on whether terrorists could make a bomb using plutonium.

CRS warns that terrorists might also obtain HEU from the more than 130 research reactors worldwide. “If terrorists acquired a nuclear weapon, they could use many means in an attempt to bring it into the United States. This nation has many thousands of miles of land and sea borders, as well as several hundred ports of entry. Terrorists might smuggle a weapon across lightly-guarded stretches of borders, ship it in using a cargo container, place it in a hold of a crude oil tanker, or bring it in using a truck, a boat, or a small airplane,” argues the analysis.

The report describes the architecture of the US response as “layered defence.” The goal is to try to block terrorists at various stages in their attempts to obtain a nuclear weapon and smuggle it into the US. The underlying concept is that the probability of success is higher if many layers are used rather than just one or two. Layers include threat reduction programmes in the former USSR, efforts to secure HEU worldwide, control of former Soviet and other borders, the Container Security Initiative and Proliferation Security Initiative, and US border security.


3,384 posted on 10/06/2004 11:06:44 PM PDT by nwctwx
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To: nwctwx

Where's the Real Center of the War on Terror?
By Melana Zyla Vickers Published 10/06/2004

For my upcoming birthday, I know exactly what I want: A little hardware contraption like a stud-finder, one that I can point at a map to learn the real center of the war on terror. If they're out of stock, I'll guess I'll settle for a printout of Al Qaeda's address on Mapquest.

According to John Kerry in the Miami debate, "the center of the focus of the war on terror" is Afghanistan. According to President George Bush, "Iraq is a central part in the war on terror." And back in June, 9/11 Commission Chairman Thomas Kean said the terrorists had more active contacts "with Iran and with Pakistan than there were with Iraq."

So which is it? Just like a bunch of men not to ask for directions.

Or rather, just like me, an average solution-oriented person, to want certainty on an almost-impossible question.

If I can't have certainty, I do want the presidential candidates as close to the mark as they can get. But candidate Kerry, and even candidate Bush at times, are aiming incorrectly.

This isn't a war against an enemy with a traditional "center of gravity," the term that classical military strategist Carl von Clausewitz gave to an enemy's source of strength, the "hub of all power and movement," and the correct place to focus one's attack. A conventional adversary's center of gravity might be his army, his capital, or his alliances. This terrorist adversary, meanwhile, has at least four "hubs of all power and movement" that need to be attacked. And unfortunately, the hubs can't always be found on a map. They are:

The terrorist organization and its leadership: Al Qaeda and its subcontractors are active in 60 countries. The 9/11 attacks were planned in Germany. This summer's foiled plot against Washington and New York office buildings was planned in Britain and Pakistan. Since 9/11, the terrorists have attacked successfully in at least 10 countries, including Indonesia, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Spain. Osama bin Laden and his deputy Ayman al Zawahiri may be in Pakistan, venturing occasionally into Afghanistan, or they may be somewhere else entirely, including the seventh circle of hell. And his terrorist confrere Abu-Musab Al-Zarqawi is in Iraq, for now. The U.S. has to go after the organization and its leaders in all these spots.

Terrorist sanctuaries: Before 9/11, Al Qaeda operated with impunity out of Afghanistan, planning attacks and training new recruits. The Clinton administration knew this and allowed them to stay. Before Afghanistan, Sudan was a sanctuary for the terrorists, and then, too, candidate Kerry's foreign-policy brains trust did nothing. After 9/11, troops led by George W. Bush largely eliminated the enemy in Afghanistan, doing work that was left recklessly undone by the Clinton foreign-policy team. Nowhere on the globe can the U.S. allow Al Qaeda and its fellow travelers to find sanctuary, or find a failed state in which to headquarter a caliphate, as they did in Afghanistan.

To be sure, important elements of Al Qaeda remain in the lawless mountain passes of Pakistan near the Afghan border. But the U.S., Pakistani, and Afghan governments are working to flush them out. The work isn't done, but the Al Qaeda hub there is nothing like it used to be. So when John Kerry says with such uncharacteristic firmness that the center of the war is Afghanistan, he's drawing his conclusion at least four years too late. Either that, or he's one "stan" too far to the left on a map.

Terrorists' popular appeal: In one important respect, terrorists are like insurgents or guerrilla warriors -- they draw strength, in other words they have a center of gravity, among the masses that support them. The danger of not attacking this strength (in the case of insurgencies) was well described by Andrew Krepinevich in his book The Army and Vietnam, where he writes that the U.S. military's failures in Vietnam came in part from focusing conventional attacks on the main-force enemy instead of attacking the enemy's base of popular support.

How does Al Qaeda attract popular support? It packages a message of militant, violent, Islam and sells it to disgruntled, impressionable young Muslims as the path to heaven. It places itself squarely on this path, arguing that divine salvation and a Godly life comes through allegiance to Al Qaeda. It positions the U.S. as the principal enemy of God, and pits its young adherents against that enemy. In this manner, Al Qaeda and its subcontractors attract a plethora of potential recruits and collaborators.

If the U.S. is to destroy this center of gravity, it has to discredit Al Qaeda and the messages it uses to make itself popular. This it can do by exposing the terrorist tactics as un-Islamic, which they are, pitting Muslims against terrorism by showing that Muslims themselves are victims of the terror, and exposing the terrorist leadership as dishonorable, murderous, corrupt -- all of the above. Ideally, the U.S. would also succeed in making counterbalances to Al Qaeda -- legitimate Arab, South and Southeast Asian, and Central Asian governments, non-violent religious figures, the U.S. itself -- strong, good, and worthy in the eyes of Al Qaeda's prospective recruits. This hearts-and-minds-campaign is in no way easy, not least because of the cultural divide between the U.S. and the Islamic world.

Terrorists' transnational network: Al Qaeda draws its recruits, its funding, weapons expertise, and alliances from across the globe. This transnational or global identity is a strength that needs to be targeted. For example, the U.S. should seek to sow discord among the various nationalities within Al Qaeda. Such discord was already evident some years ago, when, according to a recent article in the Atlantic Monthly, Egyptian adherents were angry that Al Qaeda was focusing too much on U.S. targets and not enough on the fight against the Egyptian government. The more familiar network is the financial one, and the U.S. needs to continue disrupting the flow of money across borders to Al Qaeda's coffers.

To take a popular expression and use it in the geographical sense, these four terrorist "hubs of all power and movement" don't have a lot of "there," there. They offer few geographical spots that one could pin-point with a thug-finder. But rare though the geographical hubs may be, war-on-terror strategists have to identify them as best they can.

Afghanistan was a center during the Clinton presidency, when all the terrorists were being trained in the camps. It isn't any longer. Nor is the center Iraq, though part of the terrorist organization needs to be crushed there. Iraq is also a locus of a hearts-and-minds campaign: The U.S. and new Iraqi government must prevail in convincing Iraqis and Arabs in general of the legitimacy of the new government over the legitimacy of the anti-occupation insurgents and terrorists.

These days, the most important hubs are in Pakistan, where mountainous tribal regions and teeming cities do indeed house a critical portion of the enemy. Pakistan is also the only Islamic state with nuclear weapons, and thus would be a clear source of enemy strength should the country ever fall to Al Qaeda or radical Islamists and become the caliphate headquarters that they want to build.

Similarly, Saudi Arabia with its sources of funds for terrorism and its oil wealth, as well as its Islamic holy sites, would be a center of gravity for the enemy if it were to fall to terrorists, or to ally with them. It would provide both sources of capital and critical religious rallying points for popular support. The U.S. can't afford to lose either Pakistan or Saudi Arabia's cooperation in this war. Possession of these states would greatly strengthen the enemy, and they would be immensely hard to take back if they were lost.

Yet there's regular talk in Democratic circles about Pakistan being an unworthy partner in this war on terror, because Pervez Musharraf lacks democratic legitimacy. There's similar talk from Democratic deep thinker Michael Moore about Saudi Arabia, whose ruling House of Saud is painted as a dark force conspiring with American oil companies to wreak havoc on the region. Legitimate though criticism of these two governments may be, it should be put aside for a time when American lives and deaths don't hang in the balance.

Iran is another geographically identifiable hub for the terrorists. Iran's regime has a record of giving 9/11 terrorists safe passage, is suspected of assisting current Al Qaeda leaders, has a nuclear program, and expresses deep and violent animosity toward the U.S. Arguably, Iran is at this time a more formidable and powerful center than any of the others.

Yet John Kerry would have the U.S. negotiate with the mullahs there. Several of his foreign-policy luminaries would even like to see a kind of detente with that radical Islamic regime.

And President Bush, for his part, has so deeply committed the U.S. military in Iraq, and his administration has so badly fumbled the process of moving responsibility for Iraq security onto the shoulders of Iraqis, that it's hard to see how the U.S. military could, in the coming months or even year, have the manpower and resources needed to do more than strike some Iranian targets with air power if it had to.

If the U.S. is to find the centers of this war on terror and eliminate them, it must maintain a flexible military, strengthen its intelligence and special operations capabilities, and hone its ability to focus on several fronts at once. On balance, then, President Bush's recognition that there are several "centers of the war" on terror, is more accurate than Kerry's Afghan myopia. But neither candidate -- in words or deeds -- is properly on the mark.

http://www.techcentralstation.com/100604B.html


3,385 posted on 10/06/2004 11:08:10 PM PDT by Honestly (There is nothing so likely to produce peace as to be well prepared to meet the enemy.)
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To: Donna Lee Nardo
I would like to see a debate between Marc Sageman and someone like, oh, maybe Paul Williams (whose views and backup you know alot about after reading his book) or even Joseph Bodansky or someone else who holds a bit more pessimism than Sagemen.

I have always tended to side with those on the Williams, Bodansky angle but I am still interested to see what others have to say. The lack of concrete evidence one way or another is slightly perplexing. I will hold out hope that Sageman ends up being right, but much of the information we have uncovered suggests that he is not.

3,386 posted on 10/06/2004 11:11:22 PM PDT by nwctwx
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To: ExSoldier; Donna Lee Nardo
Recent intel suggests that AQ has rebuilt it's mid-level infrastructure, even if the top tier seems to be feeling pressure. Recruiting is also supposed to be up as well. And not "everyone" is looking out for terrorists.

These are issues that Sageman does not seem to adress in the article. I think we all agree that it would be a major mistake to belittle the capabilities of al Qaida.

3,387 posted on 10/06/2004 11:14:16 PM PDT by nwctwx
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To: F15Eagle; All

http://www.assistnews.net/Stories/s04100027.htm

ASSIST News Service (ANS) - PO Box 2126, Garden Grove, CA 92842-2126 USA
E-mail: danjuma1@aol.com, Web Site: www.assistnews.net

Wednesday, October 6, 2004

URGENT UPDATE -- GFA PASTOR BEATEN AND KIDNAPPED!

By Michael Ireland
Chief Correspondent, ASSIST News Service

INDIA  (ANS) -- Urgent prayers are needed for two GFA (Gospel for Asia) misionaries in Asia.

“Yesterday GFA pastors Tulsiram and Vijay in Chhattisgarh (India) were severely beaten and kidnapped by anti-Christian elements as they prepared to baptize 32 new believers. Their captors took them to an unknown location. The kidnapping was part of a plan to stop them from continuing ministry in the village,” said K.P. Yohannan, President, Gospel for Asia.

By God's grace Pastor Vijay escaped and ran close to 25 miles to tell the GFA district leader of the incident, Yohannan said. The district leader informed GFA's Chhattisgarh state office and also rushed to the village where the kidnapping took place in hopes of securing the other native pastor's release.

“We still do not know Pastor Tulsiram's whereabouts. Please fervently pray for this urgent situation,” he said.

“Last week we asked you to pray for GFA Pastor Kumar. Your prayers have made a difference. Thank you.

“Together we give thanks to the Father for courageous brothers like Kumar who daily put their lives on the line to reach needy souls with the Gospel of Christ. “

SPONSOR A GFA NATIVE MISSIONARY: http://www.gfa.org/gfa/sponsor?motiv=WA4A-GUSP

About Gospel for Asia: http://www.gfa.org/aboutgfa 
Gospel for Asia
1800 Golden Trail Ct.
Carrollton TX 75010
800-WIN-ASIA


** Michael Ireland is an international British freelance journalist. A former reporter with a London newspaper, Michael is the Chief Correspondent for ASSIST News Service of Garden Grove, CA. Michael immigrated to the United States in 1982 and became a US citizen in Sept., 1995. He is married with two children. Michael has also been a frequent contributor to UCB Europe, a British Christian radio station.


** You may republish this story with proper attribution.


3,388 posted on 10/06/2004 11:14:57 PM PDT by Cindy
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To: All; Honestly

Syria 'holding hostages' to punish France
http://news.independent.co.uk/europe/story.jsp?story=569535

The French government believes that two French journalists taken hostage in Iraq may have been taken to Syria with the connivance of authorities in Damascus. French officials would not comment officially yesterday but suspicions were confirmed by a senior politician and reported by the newspaper, Le Figaro, which employs one of the missing men.

The paper suggested Syria's intervention was "cynical" and even hostile but could lead, paradoxically, to the release of Georges Malbrunot and Christian Chesnot, captured by a mysterious opposition group in Iraq 49 days ago.

The men are said to have been repeatedly moved around, with a final stop near Ramadi, in western Iraq before crossing into Syria, say sources in Muslim clerical circles in Baghdad.

It might now be easier for Paris to negotiate "state to state" with Syria than with small groups of hostage-takers with "changeable moods", the newspaper said.

François Bayrou, head of the centrist UDF party, said after a briefing on the hostage situation by the Prime Minister, Jean-Pierre Raffarin: "The government has not excluded the possibility [that the hostages are in Syria] but it's not up to me to comment on that."

Le Figaro, in a front-page article signed by its deputy editor, Charles Lambroschoini, said intelligence sources in France and in the Arab world suspected Syria had intervened in the hostage crisis to "punish" Paris for supporting an anti-Syrian resolution in the UN Security Council. The newspaper suggested Damascus has been largely responsible for the near-farcical events at the weekend in which a maverick member of the French parliament claimed he had succeeded in an independent mission to free the two and their Syrian driver-interpreter.

The claims of the parliamentarian - Didier Julia, of President Jacques Chirac's UMP party - came to nothing amid a blizzard of recriminations. M. Julia said the official French attempts to release the hostages were "lost in the wilderness". He described the French diplomatic service as "a bunch of penguins".

Paris disowned M. Julia's efforts. The government accused him of ruining its own patient negotiations with the hostage-takers, then admitted it had opened some diplomatic doors for M. Julia's bizarre team of negotiators, which included former Saddam Hussein sympathisers, close to the French far right.

The fiasco came close to shattering the mood of national unity which has existed in France since the journalists were captured. To calm criticism by the press and opposition parties, M. Raffarin called in party leaders on Tuesday and revealed that the government had been given a video tape showing the two men were alive on 18 September.

At this meeting, M. Raffarin also appears to have revealed the suspected Syrian connection. France supported a US-sponsored resolution in the UN last month which criticised the continued presence of Syrian troops in Lebanon. Le Figaro said yesterday that Syrian interference in the hostage crisis would be a "typical piece of vengeance of the kind often used, to the point of cynicism, by Damascus".

The French government is now said to suspect that the hostage-takers were not, as first thought, radical Islamists but former Baath party members, still loyal to Saddam. The hostage-takers are believed to be either under the influence of Damascus or to have actually transferred the hostages to Syrian control.


3,389 posted on 10/06/2004 11:20:17 PM PDT by nwctwx
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To: All

Terror detainee claims torture
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,10997685%255E1702,00.html

...excerpt...

A YEMENI prisoner accused of being Osama bin Laden's errand boy appeared before a review hearing today, rejecting statements made by an interrogator and saying he had been mistreated by American troops in Guantanamo and Afghanistan.

The bearded and shackled prisoner with bloodshot eyes has been held at the outpost for nearly three years and is accused of training at an al-Qaeda terrorist camp in Afghanistan in 1995. He was also accused of running errands for bin Laden and fighting for the terror network.

The man, who journalists are prohibited from naming, said he was studying until 1996 in Yemen, married in 2000 and moved to Pakistan and Afghanistan to teach the Koran. He denied being a member of al-Qaeda or having connections with Afghanistan's ousted Taliban regime. He also said he never fought against US or coalition forces, and never received any weapons training.

"I stayed in Afghanistan for about a year," the 25-year-old said through an Arabic translator and before a three-member panel charged with deciding whether some 550 prisoners are being properly held as enemy combatants, a classification with fewer legal protections than prisoners of war.

"I don't understand how a person in a year can become such an important person, a guard or someone who runs errands. You know more about the Taliban than me."


3,390 posted on 10/06/2004 11:21:44 PM PDT by nwctwx
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To: All; Honestly; Godzilla

Bin Laden the 'forgotten man' of Afghan election campaign
http://www.tehrantimes.com/Description.asp?Da=10/7/2004&Cat=4&Num=004

...excerpt...

KABUL (AFP) -- Osama bin Laden, who unwittingly set Afghanistan on the path to this week's presidential elections, is the forgotten man of the campaign.

Candidates never mention the name of the Al-Qaeda leader whose September 11 attacks on the United States led to the invasion of Afghanistan in late 2001.

Bin Laden is thought to lurk somewhere along Afghanistan's wild border with Pakistan, and remains the major bogeyman in the West's war on terrorism.

But for ordinary Afghans, he is not an issue in presidential elections on October 9.

"He's a forgotten man," said an Afghan journalist who has followed the campaign closely. "We have had 25 years of war, and every day there has been a new face, a new excuse for war. Ordinary people know very little about him."

In contrast, the wealthy scion of a Saudi family is the face of global terror to Westerners and has played a role in the U.S. presidential race.

Democratic candidate John Kerry has cited the U.S. failure to capture or kill him in the Afghan mountains as a prime example of President George W. Bush's incompetence.

The U.S.-led invasion toppled the hardline Islamic Taliban regime which sheltered Bin Laden, but missed its main target. Bush now avoids mentioning the terrorist mastermind, whom he once vowed to bring in "dead or alive."

The U.S. still has more than 18,000 troops in Afghanistan, but Bin Laden's trail appears to have gone cold.


3,391 posted on 10/06/2004 11:23:12 PM PDT by nwctwx
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To: All

Saddam tells interrogators of fixation on enemy Iran
http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/headline/world/2834813

...excerpt...

WASHINGTON - Saddam Hussein, obsessed with his status in the Arab world, dreamed of weapons of mass destruction to pump up his prestige.

Even as the United States fixated on him, he was fixated on his neighboring enemy, Iran.

That's the picture that emerges from interrogations of the former Iraqi leader since his capture in December, according to the final report by Charles Duelfer, the chief U.S. arms inspector.

Saddam, the report said, tried to improve relations with the United States in the 1990s yet basked in his standing as the only leader to stand up to the world's superpower.

And, the report said, he was determined that if Iran was to acquire nuclear weapons, so would Iraq.

He was a narcissist who cared deeply about his legacy, making sure bricks were molded with his name in hopes people would admire them for centuries to come.


3,392 posted on 10/06/2004 11:26:03 PM PDT by nwctwx
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To: nwctwx

Yep, as I always say, "Whether UBL IS DEAD, captured, or in a hidey-hole; his evil spirit lives on via jihad."


3,393 posted on 10/07/2004 1:08:08 AM PDT by Cindy
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To: Marine Inspector; JackRyanCIA; All

http://tennessean.com/local/archives/04/09/59184618.shtml?Element_ID=59184618

October 7, 2004

"Driver's license scams raise concerns for immigrants"

ARTICLE SNIPPET: "The International Automobile Driver's Clan advertised in a local Spanish-language newspaper and left fliers at Hispanic businesses in south Nashville saying that it can provide translations of overseas driver's licenses good for driving anywhere in the United States, as well as ''custom-made'' IDs for school or work.


Carlos Gonzalez, who is offering the licenses from a second-floor motel room on Murfreesboro Pike, said he charges $150. No ID is needed and no driving test is required, he said. The document allows drivers to travel anywhere in the United States, he said, speaking through an interpreter provided by The Tennessean."


3,394 posted on 10/07/2004 1:12:37 AM PDT by Cindy
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To: All
FBI.gov: "MOST WANTED TERRORISTS" (View Posters. Read More...)

FBI.gov - War On Terrorism: "SEEKING INFORMATION" (View Posters. Read More...)

3,395 posted on 10/07/2004 1:16:20 AM PDT by Cindy
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To: All

Resource Link:


READY.gov
http://www.ready.gov


3,396 posted on 10/07/2004 1:17:10 AM PDT by Cindy
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To: All

off topic, but interesting...ON THE NET:

http://www.cnsnews.com//ViewPolitics.asp?Page=\Politics\archive\200410\POL20041006c.html

"Arab American PAC Endorsing Kerry This Time"
By Susan Jones
CNSNews.com Morning Editor
October 06, 2004


3,397 posted on 10/07/2004 1:20:58 AM PDT by Cindy
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To: Old Sarge; backhoe; piasa; JohnathanRGalt; All

GOOGLE Search Term: "Mara Salvatrucha"
http://www.google.com/search?q=%22Mara+Salvatrucha%22&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&filter=0

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GOOGLE Search Term: "MS-13"
http://www.google.com/search?q=%22MS-13%22&hl=en&lr=&filter=0

===
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http://www.wtop.com/?sid=292348&nid=25

"More Money to Fight Gangs on the Way"
Updated: Wednesday, Oct. 6, 2004 - 3:14 PM


ARTICLE SNIPPET: "A new FBI report estimates as many as two-thousand MS-13 gang members are in Northern Virginia."


3,398 posted on 10/07/2004 1:50:08 AM PDT by Cindy
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To: Old Sarge; backhoe; piasa; JohnathanRGalt; All
ON THE NET...


WASHINGTON TIMES.com: "AL QAEDA SEEKS TIE TO LOCAL GANGS" by Jerry Seper (September 28, 2004) (Read More...)

FBI.gov - Seeking Information: "ADNAN G. EL SHUKRIJUMAH" (ALIASES: "Adnan G. El Shukri Jumah; Abu Arif; Ja'far Al-Tayar; Jaffar Al-Tayyar; Jafar Tayar; Jaafar Al-Tayyar") (VIEW POSTER. Click Here.)
IanLivingston.com - Focus: "ADAN GULSHAIR EL SHUKRIJUMAH" (Read More...)

FOX NEWS.com (AP): Tegucigalpa, Honduras - "AL QAEDA MAY BE TRYING TO RECRUIT HONDURANS" (August 22, 2004) (Read More...)

GOOGLE Search Term: "MARA SALVATRUCHA" (Read More...)

3,399 posted on 10/07/2004 1:53:06 AM PDT by Cindy
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To: JohnathanRGalt; LayoutGuru2; fullwave; All

Random Links...ON THE NET:

http://meshawir.cjb.net/
meshawir@hotmail.com
http://www.uploadyourimage.com/1/m2sh.gif
https://67.15.48.24/~ansarnet/vb/index.php

http://www.islamicawakening.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=405&sid=e49a42b95c1c6737d9dd6a499a35d4fe

https://www.islah.tv/vboard/showthread.php?s=2ab98bccad1ae57faed1f46c6c54fc4b&t=114664
http://img3.exs.cx/img3/8605/untitled573.jpg
https://www.islah.tv/vboard/showthread.php?s=2ab98bccad1ae57faed1f46c6c54fc4b&t=114664&page=2&pp=15
http://asheqalreem.com/upload/aaa/untitled.bmp
https://www.islah.tv/vboard/showthread.php?s=2ab98bccad1ae57faed1f46c6c54fc4b&t=114664&page=4&pp=15
http://liberty.jeeran.com/images/Pic/Osama.gif

http://membres.lycos.fr/jihaad/

http://www.shiachat.com/forum/index.php?s=88e9a8407a6362a8141afabc0d9dbaab&showtopic=41877

http://www.forsan.net/animation/mutafarikat/Bush.JPG
http://www.forsan.net/animation/mutafarikat/whoeverwinz.JPG
http://www.forsan.net/animation/mutafarikat/forsanpoor.jpg
http://www.forsan.net/animation/ramazan.JPG
http://www.forsan.net/animation/mutafarikat/mawled.jpg


3,400 posted on 10/07/2004 3:02:04 AM PDT by Cindy
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