Threat Matrix: Daily Terror Threat - July 2006

[Cindy]

ON THE NET...

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

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

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


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===

Note: The following text is a quote:

http://www.jihadwatch.org/archives/2006/07/012325print.html

July 22, 2006

Yemen: Demonstrators call for Jihad

Tiny Minority of Extremists Update from the Yemen Observer, with thanks to the Constantinopolitan Irredentist:

Waves of anger have been rising here in Yemen and in the Arab and Islamic world over Israeli atrocities in Lebanon. Thousands of Yemenis, MPs and leaders of political parties, and civil society organizations staged a demonstration on Wednesday in Al-Sabeen Square to condemn Israeli aggressions and terrorist acts against Palestinians and Lebanese.
The crowd called for Arab governments to declare Jihad and remove all borders in order to defend their brothers in Lebanon and Palestine. Demonstrators carried placards with slogans denouncing Arab leaders’ silence towards what they described as Israeli arrogance. They were chanting, “Arab leaders, the reason is the dollar”.

The protesters also raised pictures of Arab leaders such as the late Egyptian Jamal Abdul Nasser, Palestinian Yaser Arafat, Hamas leaders Ahmad Yasin and Abdul Aziz al-Rantisi, in addition to pictures of Hizbollah leader Hassan Nasr Allah, and placards with slogans for the resistance in Lebanon “No god but Allah, we are all Hizbollah”, and “We are all Hizbollah, we are all resistance”.

Posted at July 22, 2006 08:04 AM

[LibertyRocks]

Thank you Cindy, I really appreciate the links. I'm going to do a little more research on that story tomorrow if I have the time and energy. I did a little digging the other day, but there is more info to use now. I'll ping you if I find anything interesting. (o:

[Cindy]

You're welcome LibertyRocks and thank you.
Updates and feedback always appreciated.

[MamaDearest]

Israel Radio, meanwhile, quoted Israeli army officials as saying that Israel won't stop its military offensive until an Israeli soldier kidnapped by Palestinian militants on June 25 is freed.

World news seems to be 80% against Israel - and THAT is very troubling news IMHO. Our family met some incredibly nice people from Israel last summer and we cannot help but wonder about their personal safety. Sometimes things happen (like us meeting these people) that puts human faces on world news. May God bless those young people and keep them safe from harm.

Amazingly heard a political rock and roll song that doesn't bash our President

Minneapolis woman first in nation to die of West Nile virus

Snip: Her family doesn't want her name released. But the say she was 72 years old, and she was an active gardener. She fell ill on July 7 and died on July 11. And for months before her death, her relatives say she didn't travel farther than the two-mile radius that surrounds her home in the Powderhorn Park area in Minneapolis.

Putin plans to shut out US oil giants

Snip: President Vladimir Putin is set to keep US oil companies out of a lucrative gas field in the latest sign of the deteriorating relationship between Moscow and Washington.

The Russian leader is expected to favour Norwegian companies and reject bids by America's Chevron and ConocoPhillips after failing to secure backing from the United States for his country's attempt to join the World Trade Organisation.

Islamic charity will get literature back

Snip: Federal officials on Friday agreed to return 155 cartons of religious literature seized two years ago from an Ashland-based Islamic charity, according to the charity's attorney.

"They are turning all the materials over to me. No strings attached," said Thomas Nelson, a Portland attorney representing the Al-Haramain Islamic Foundation. A Treasury spokesman declined to comment.

M15 fears Hezbollah terror attacks in UK

Snip: Whitehall security sources last night confirmed MI5 and anti-terrorist police were investigating threats to Jewish and Israeli targets in the UK. They fear Hezbollah may resort to a renewed international terror campaign.

Outcry as border guards seize British "dirty bomb" lorry heading for Iran

Snip: Border guards seized a British lorry on its way to make a delivery to the Iranian military - after discovering it was packed with radioactive material that could be used to build a dirty bomb.

The lorry set off from Kent on its way to Tehran but was stopped by officials at a checkpoint on Bulgaria's northernborder with Romania after a scanner indicated radiation levels 200 times above normal.

The lorry was impounded and the Bulgarian Nuclear Regulatory Agency (NPA) was called out. On board they found ten lead-lined boxes addressed to the Iranian Ministry of Defence. Inside each box was a soil-testing device, containing highly dangerous quantities of radioactive caesium 137 and americium-beryllium.

The soil testers had been sent to Iran by a British firm with the apparent export approval of the Department of Trade and Industry. Last night, the head of the Bulgarian NRA, Nikolai Todorov, said he was shocked that devices containing so much nuclear material could be sold so easily.

He said: "The devices are highly radioactive - if you had another 90 of them you would be able to make an effective dirty bomb." And a spokesman for the Bulgarian customs office, said: "The documentation listed the shipment as destined for the Ministry of Transport in Tehran, although the final delivery address was the Iranian Ministry of Defence.

"According to the documentation they are hand-held soil-testing devices which were sent from a firm in the United Kingdom." A leading British expert last night said the radioactive material could easily be removed and used to construct a dirty bomb.

Dr Frank Barnaby from the Oxford Research Group, said: "You would need a few of these devices to harvest sufficient material for a dirty bomb. Americium-beryllium is an extremely effective element for the construction of a dirty bomb as it has a very long half-life, but I would be amazed to find it out on the street.

"I don't know how you would come by it as it is mainly found in spent reactor-fuel elements and is not at all easy to get hold of. I find it very hard to believe it is so easily available in this device."

Senior Labour MP Andrew MacKinlay called for the Government to tighten up export controls to prevent the Iranian military getting its hands on nuclear material. He said: "The Prime Minister has accused the Iranian Government of sponsoring international terrorism, yet his officials are doing nothing to prevent radioactive material which has an obvious dual use being sold to their military."

The discovery will add to fears about the lack of control over the sale of nuclear material to so-called 'rogue states' which the Government claims sponsor international terrorism, particularly as it comes at a time when Iran is ignoring international calls to halt its nuclear programme.

The case has echoes of the arms-to-Iraq affair during which the DTI approved exports of apparently innocent civilian equipment to Saddam Hussein that was then used to build weapons. Mr MacKinlay added: "Our export controls are a mess.

"The Iranians are resourceful and sophisticated and, just as we saw with Saddam Hussein in the past, this is just the sort of method they would use to get their hands on the equipment they need for their supposedly banned weapons programmes."

Andrew Maclean, a director of Kent-based Orient Transport Services, which was paid by another unnamed British firm to transport the radioactive devices to Iran, said the shipment was perfectly legal.

[Cindy]

http://www.upi.com/NewsTrack/view.php?StoryID=20060722-081756-7783r

"Russia calls for emergency Mideast meeting"

ARTICLE SNIPPET: "MOSCOW, July 22 (UPI) -- The Russian Foreign Ministry Saturday proposed an emergency meeting on the conflict in the Middle East with key countries and international organizations.

The ministry proposed that representatives of the United States, United Kingdom, France, Russia, Italy, Lebanon, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, United Nations, European Union and the World Bank, meet in Beirut or Rome to find a means of ending the escalating violence in the Mideast, Novosti reported."


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I saw your article about Putin.
Thanks MamaDearest, I'll add it to this post.
---

http://observer.guardian.co.uk/business/story/0,,1826629,00.html

"Putin plan to shut out US oil giants"

"Kremlin will favour Norwegian firms to develop Barents Sea field after differences with Bush scupper Russia's bid to join WTO"

Conal Walsh
Sunday July 23, 2006
The Observer

[MamaDearest]

Adding to Post 1464:

Soil testing devices like the ones stopped at the Bulgarian border heading to Iran have been stolen in the past in the USA - containing the same radioactive materials

Snip: The neutron probes, one for measuring soil water content and another for density, have radioactive Americium-241 and Cesium-137 in them. The 70-lb. sealed devices were each in orange carrying cases, in a locked green wooden box in the back of the truck.

Frattinger’s theory is that the probes have been dumped somewhere. And Grevers says, “They’re totally useless to anybody out there. You can’t sell the stuff.”

2002 article regarding "dirty bombs"

Snip: In terms of priorities for establishing adequate controls, IAEA Director General Mohamed ElBaradei noted: "What is needed is cradle-to-grave control of powerful radioactive sources to protect them against terrorism or theft. One of our priorities is to assist states in creating and strengthening national regulatory infrastructures to ensure that these radioactive sources are appropriately regulated and adequately secured at all times."

[LibertyRocks]

LOL they want to call a meeting in Beirut??? Seeing as Russia is siding with Iran on nuke development, I don't think going to Beirut for a meeting would be very smart. Interesting though, I'd love to know whether Russia thinks they can live side by side with the Militant Muslims, or if the Communists are planning on our two sides' ranks thinning in a war and then enacting their long held dream of world domination? Anyway you slice it this is getting scary frankly.

[Cindy]

ON THE NET...

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

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

http://littlegreenfootballs.com/weblog/?entry=21712_Terror_Supporters_in_Moscow
(July 22, 2006)

http://littlegreenfootballs.com/weblog/?entry=21712_Terror_Supporters_in_Moscow#comments

http://littlegreenfootballs.com/weblog/pictures/20060720Moscow01.jpg

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/060720/481/36170017ffc5438795faf8451f687aca



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

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/keyword?k=2006ISRAELWAR

[Cindy]

OPINION: I don't think the Jews and Crusaders, Americans and Israelis will be favored. I could be wrong. I hope I am. Time will tell.

[Cindy]

JIHAD WATCH.org (SPIEGEL): "MERKEL REJECTS LETTER AHMADINEJAD SUGGESTING COOPERATION AGAINST 'ZIONISM'" (July 22, 2006)

JIHAD WATCH.org: "AHMADINEJAD'S LETTER TO BUSH" (May 9, 2006)

[Cindy]

http://www.washingtontimes.com/national/20060723-121754-9232r.htm

Page 1 of 2

"E-mails detail ex-diplomat's ties to Taiwanese spy"
July 23, 2006

ASSOCIATED PRESS

[Cindy]

PERSECUTION.ORG
http://www.persecution.org

---

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=51187
"Evangelists arrested at 'Gay Games'
File lawsuit claiming police singled them out for sharing gospel"
Posted: July 22, 2006


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http://headlines.agapepress.org/archive/7/212006a.asp
"Homosexual Activists Plan March On Focus on the Family Headquarters"
By Allie Martin and Jenni Parker
July 21, 2006

[Cindy]

Note: The following text is a quote:
---

http://www.assistnews.net/Stories/s06070089.htm

ASSIST News Service (ANS) - PO Box 609, Lake Forest, CA 92609-0609 USA
Visit our web site at: www.assistnews.net -- E-mail: danjuma1@aol.com


Saturday, July 22, 2006

AFGHANISTAN: THE RETURN OF THE RELIGIOUS POLICE

By Elizabeth Kendal
World Evangelical Alliance Religious Liberty Commission (WEA RLC)
Special to ASSIST News Service

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA (ANS) -- When Afghanistan was ruled by the Taliban, strict conservative Islamic practice and values were enforced by the religious police of the Department for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice. This force, famous for beating women, destroying art and turning executions into spectator sport, was disbanded after the Taliban was ousted in 2001. Now however this department is being reinstated by President Hamid Karzai's government.

WAR FOR AFGHANISTAN BEING FOUGHT ON TWO FRONTS
There are two battles raging in Afghanistan: the battle between the US and allied forces against a resurgent Taliban; and the battle between Afghanistan's hard-line Islamist conservatives and reformist West-leaning moderates. Taliban military advances, Afghan (mostly Taliban) deaths at the hands of "infidel" forces, and Taliban propaganda against the "apostate government" of "US-puppet" President Hamid Karzai, are all playing into the hands of the hard-line Islamist conservative forces.

The reality is that the government is only one of many power groups in the nation. The government does not control anything much outside Kabul. The countryside is politically fragmented and controlled by warlords who fight either with the Taliban or against them according to their own interests at any time. American military might is not the primary weapon against the Taliban. America has only about one-tenth of the troop numbers that the Soviets did when they failed to pacify the mujahideen. Rather it has been America's ability to manipulate and buy the co-operation and allegiance of the warlords.

But, as Stratfor Intelligence comments: "As Taliban power increases, the willingness of regional warlords to collaborate with the government and the United States decreases. No one wants to be caught on the wrong side of a war in that country." (Stratfor 19 May)

Reflecting the political difficulty caused by Afghan deaths, Afghan President Hamid Karzai recently called on the international community to re-evaluate its strategy regarding the war on terrorism, saying the death of hundreds of Afghans in fighting with coalition troops is "not acceptable". According to Stratfor Intelligence Karzai told a news conference in Kabul, "I strongly believe ... we must engage strategically in disarming terrorism by stopping their sources of supply of money, training, equipment and motivation." This, while both logical and strategic, would also shift the focus of the war on terror to Pakistan. Karzai added that even if the approximately 600 people killed in Afghanistan over the past month are Taliban, "they are sons of this land". (Stratfor 23 June)

TALIBANISATION

In a clear sign that Afghanistan's reformist moderates are drastically lacking support and struggling for political survival, President Karzai's Cabinet has approved a proposal from the government-appointed council of Muslim clerics to reinstate the Department for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice.

The Pak Tribune (Pakistan News Service) notes: "Although crackdowns on forms of expression deemed un-Islamic have generally come from the courts, and although conservative Islamists are currently the main block in Parliament, this initiative came from the President's recently approved Cabinet." The decision was clearly made for short-term political gain but the long-term implications for Afghanistan are deeply worrying.

Tom Coghlan reports from Kabul for The Independent: "The Afghan government has alarmed human rights groups by approving a plan to reintroduce a Department for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, the body which the Taliban used to enforce its extreme religious doctrine.

"The proposal, which came from the country's Ulema council of clerics, has been passed by the cabinet of President Hamid Karzai and will now go before the Afghan parliament." (Link 1)

Coghlan quotes the Minister for Haj and Religious Affairs, Nematullah Shahrani, who says, "The job of the department will be to tell people what is allowable and what is forbidden in Islam. In practical terms it will be quite different from Taliban times. We will preach ... through radio, television and special gatherings."

According to Coglan, Shahrani denied that the department would have police powers but said it would oppose the proliferation of alcohol and drugs and speak out against terrorism, crime and corruption, adding that it would also encourage people to behave in more Islamic ways.

Likewise, the Deputy Minister for Haj and Religious Affairs Ghazi Suleiman Hamed assured Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty's (RFE/RL) Radio Free Afghanistan that the new department will be quite different from the one run by the Taliban. He said there would be no violent punishment, only education, preaching, and encouragement to help move people towards God. (Link 2)

The assurances of moderation provide little comfort to multitudes of Afghan citizens who have traumatic memories of Taliban repression and violence. Likewise, analysts and human rights groups have expressed great concern that the new Department for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice could become a force of political and religious oppression in the guise of protecting Islamic values. The crimes the department will allegedly focus on, such as alcohol and prostitution, are already covered under criminal law. There is also drastic shortage of safeguards, and the definition of virtue is vague and open to interpretation.

Coglan reports that while Western diplomats have reacted with unease to the proposal, several told The Independent that they believed the move was partly designed to defuse Taliban propaganda which accuses the Karzai government of being un-Islamic.

Coglan writes, "With the Taliban making considerable gains in the south the Karzai government has been keen to establish a more conservative Islamic profile and to appear more critical of Western military operations."

Legislator Shukria Barekzai told RFE/RL that it was not clear when the parliament would debate and consider the proposal. However, she believes there is no need for such a department unless it commits to fighting bureaucratic corruption.

Likewise MP Ahmad Behzad told AFP that he believed there was no need for such a department. "This decision was made under extreme pressure from religious groups — a return to Taleban rule is impossible but some circles are trying to lead Afghanistan towards Talebanisation. To preach virtue is cultural work — through the media, papers and other means." According to the AFP the Taliban are waging a growing insurgency "with a sophisticated propaganda campaign that includes condemning the government's foreign allies as anti-Islamic 'infidels' who are undermining the country's morality". (Link 3)

Mohamed Asif Nang, the spokesman for parliamentary affairs, told Reuters he did not know when parliament would debate the proposal, but if parliament decided to set the force up again, it would also determine its duties. (Reuters 16 July 2006)

The Afghan Parliament reconvenes at the end of July.

Elizabeth Kendal
rl-research@crossnet.org.au

Links

1) Fury as Karzai plans return of Taliban's religious police
By Tom Coghlan in Kabul, 17 July 2006
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/asia/article181612.ece

2) Afghanistan: Proposal To Create Morality Department Causes Concern
PRAGUE, 18 July 2006 (RFE/RL)
http://www.azadiradio.org/en/news/2006/07/12E5F422-DFD8-42FC-A25D-5984C96EC3B2.ASP

3) Alarm over govt's move to set up Taleban-like 'vice squad'
AFP 19 July 2006

Elizabeth Kendal is the Principal Researcher and Writer for the World Evangelical Alliance Religious Liberty Commission (WEA RLC) www.worldevangelical.org/rlc.html. This article was initially written for the World Evangelical Alliance Religious Liberty News & Analysis mailing list.


Elizabeth can be contacted by e-mail at rl-research@crossnet.org.au.


** You may republish this story with proper attribution.

[Cindy]

RECAP AND UPDATES:

YNETnews.coms - News Updates (Read More...)

WAR NEWS (Read More...)

JIHAD WATCH.org (SPIEGEL): "MERKEL REJECTS LETTER AHMADINEJAD SUGGESTING COOPERATION AGAINST 'ZIONISM'" (July 22, 2006)

JIHAD WATCH.org: "AHMADINEJAD'S LETTER TO BUSH" (May 9, 2006)

INTELLIGENCE-SUMMIT.blogspot.com: "HOW IRAN PREPARED FOR ASSAULT" (July 21, 2006)

INTELLIGENCE-SUMMIT.blogspot.com (AKI) - Tehran: "IRAN SUICIDE BOMBERS JOINED HEZBOLLAH IN LEBANON, MILITANT SAYS" (July 21, 2006)

FRONTPAGE MAGAZINE.com: "IRAN'S PROXY WAR AGAINST AMERICA" by Kenneth R. Timmerman (July 20, 2006)

JIHAD WATCH.org (YNET NEWS): "AL-WATAN: SYRIA, IRAN WILL COOPERATE TO PREVENT DISSOLUTION OF HIZBULLAH" (July 19, 2006)

FRONTPAGE MAGAZINE.com: "TERROR'S NUCLEAR NEXUS" by Lt. Col. Gordon Cucullu (July 20, 2006)

FRONTPAGE MAGAZINE.com (TOWNHALL.com): "THE ENEMY IS IRAN" by Jeff Jacoby (July 18, 2006)

"www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1659022/posts?page=1069#1069" (July 18, 2006)

FOX NEWS.com (AP): Paris - "SIX NATIONS REFER IRAN TO SECURITY COUNCIL OVER NUKES" (July 12, 2006)

WHITEHOUSE.gov: "STATEMENT BY THE PRESIDENT MARKING TEN YEARS AFTER ATTACK ON KHOBAR TOWERS" (June 26, 2006)

MICHELLE MALKIN.com - Weblog: "KHOBAR TOWERS: 10 YEARS LATER" (June 25, 2006)

stepping back in time...INTERNET-HAGANAH.com (WASHINGTON POST): "FREEH LINKS IRAN TO KHOBAR BOMBING" (December 19, 2003)

JIHAD WATCH.org: "IRAN'S SUICIDE BOMBERS THREATEN TO STRIKE U.S. INTERESTS" (May 26, 2006)

JIHAD WATCH.org (AKI): Tehran - "'We have brothers who are ready to sacrifice their lives for the triumph of Islam in Great Britain, France, Belgium, Spain, Italy, the Netherlands and also the United States'" (May 27, 2006)

JIHAD WATCH.org (AP): Ankara, Turkey: "REPORT: MISSILE PARTS, 'DUAL-USE' MATERIALS ILLEGALLY SHIPPED TO IRAN THROUGH TURKEY" (May 26, 2006)

INTELLIGENCE-SUMMIT.blogspot.com (ISN SECURITY WATCH): "RUSSIA CONFIRMS IRAN AIR DEFENSE SALE" (May 26, 2006)

MEMRI.org: "IRAN"

MEMRITV.org - Video Clips: "IRAN'S NUCLEAR PROGRAM"

FreeRepublic.com - Keyword: "IRAN"

INTERNET-HAGANAH.com: "AL-MANAR'S WEBSITE: DOWN IN INDIA, UP IN THE UNITED STATES" (July 22, 2006)

INTERNET-HAGANAH.com: "THE WEB SITES OF HIZBALLAH (current as of 22 July 2006)" (July 22, 2006)

COUNTERTERRORISM BLOG.org: "AL-MABARRAT - A HEZBOLLAH CHARITABLE FRONT IN DEARBORN, MI?" by Steven Emerson (July 22, 2006)

INTERNET-HAGANAH.com: "mabarrat.org.lb: Web site of Hizballah-linked 'Al-Mabarrat Charitable Association'" (May 30, 2006)

LittleGreenFootballs.com - Weblog: "TERROR SUPPORTERS IN NEW YORK CITY" (July 22, 2006)

WorldNetDaily.com: "PALESTINIAN TERRORISTS PREPARE TO TARGET U.S. Al Aqsa Brigades leader tells WND of threat amid concerns of Hezbollah on American soil" (July 21, 2006)

INTERNET-HAGANAH.com: "HIZBALLAH WEBSITE ON THE RUN!" (ARTICLE SNIPPET: "So, this is the current number one website of Hizballah, still hosted on a server in the United States: www.moqawama.info") (July 19, 2006)

ISLAMONLINE.net: "HIZBULLAH FAQ" (July 19, 2006)

INTELLIGENCE-SUMMIT.blogspot.com: "HEZBOLLAH'S DANGEROUS BALL BEARINGS" by Michael Kraft (July 19, 2006)

JIHAD WATCH.org: "FBI EYES HIZBOLLAH IN US AS TENSIONS WITH IRAN RISE" (July 19, 2006)

WorldNetDaily.com: "HEZBOLLAH THREAT TO U.S. 'SERIOUS'" (July 19, 2006)

TOWNHALL.com: "HEZBOLLAH IS HERE" -Column by Michelle Malkin (July 19, 2006)

COUNTERTERRORISM BLOG.org: "HIZBALLAH ACTIVITY IN NORTH AMERICA" by Andrew Cochran (July 19, 2006)

FOX NEWS.com: "HAMAS AND HEZBOLLAH FIND SUPPORT IN AN UNEXPECTED PLACE" by Brit Hume (July 19, 2006)

Off-Topic.INTERNET-HAGANAH.com: "THE SHORT AND SWEET OF IT" (July 18, 2006)

MichelleMalkin.com - Weblog: "OUR OPEN DOORS FOR HEZBOLLAH" (July 18, 2006)

AmericanCongressForTruth.com: "THANK YOU ISRAEL" by Brigitte Gabriel (July 16, 2006)

MENS NEWS DAILY.com - Blog: "HEZBOLLAH TERRORIST SLEEPER CELL SUSPECTED IN NEW YORK CITY" by Jim Kouri, CPP (July 16, 2006)

ZOMBIE TIME.com: "PROTEST AT THE ISRAELI CONSULATE IN SAN FRANCISCO, July 13, 2006" (ARTICLE SNIPPET: "Pro-Palestinian protesters: "Black, red, brown, white! Black, red, brown, white! We support Hezbollah's fight! We support Hezbollah's fight! We support Hezbollah's fight! We support Hezbollah's fight! Black, red, green, blue! Black, red, green, blue! Black, red, green, blue! Black, red, green, blue! We support Hamas too! We support Hamas too! We support Hamas too! We support Hamas too! Viva viva Palestina! Viva viva Palestina! Viva viva Palestina! Viva viva Palestina! Viva viva Palestina! Viva viva Palestina! Viva viva Palestina! Viva viva Palestina! Black, red, green, white! Black, red, brown, white! Black, red, green, white! Black, red, brown, white! We support Hezbollah's fight! We support Hezbollah's fight! We support Hezbollah's fight! We support Hezbollah's fight! Black, red, green, blue! Black, red, green, blue! Black, red, green, blue! Black, red, green, blue! We support Hamas too! We support Hamas too! We support Hamas too! We support Hamas too!"")

"http://zombietime.com/israeli_consulate_protest_july_13_2006/11.mov" (mp3) (July 13, 2006)

UPI.com: Washington - "HEZBOLLAH MAY ACTIVATE SLEEPER CELLS" (ARTICLE SNIPPET: "The New York Post, quoting sources, said the Lebanon-based fundamentalist Islamic group may be planning to activate sleeper cells in New York or other big cities. The investigation is being carried out by the FBI and the Justice Department. Quoting law-enforcement and intelligence officials, the newspaper said about a dozen hard-core supporters of Hezbollah have been identified in recent weeks as operating in the New York area. The Iranian Mission to the United Nations also is being watched. But U.S. officials also told the newspaper there is no intelligence information pointing to an imminent attack by Hezbollah.") (May 22, 2006) (Note: This url may expire.)

stepping back in time...WASHINGTON TIMES.com - Today's Editorial: "HEZBOLLAH IN AMERICA" (May 20, 2005)

NEWSMAX.com: "FBI's MUELLER: HEZBOLLAH BUSTED IN MEXICAN SMUGGLING OPERATION" (March 30, 2006)

MoonbatMedia.com: "ANTI-ISRAEL PROTEST IN LONDON 7,000 people march through London to protest Israel's action against Hezbullah, 22 July 2006"

LittleGreenFootballs.com - Weblog: "TERROR SUPPORTERS IN SWITZERLAND" (July 21, 2006)

LittleGreenFootballs.com - Weblog: "TERROR SUPPORTERS IN COPENHAGEN" (July 21, 2006)

INTELLIGENCE-SUMMIT.blogspot.com (AKI) - Tehran: "IRAN SUICIDE BOMBERS JOINED HEZBOLLAH IN LEBANON, MILITANT SAYS" (July 21, 2006)

COUNTERTERRORISM BLOG.org: "WORST CASE SCENARIO: HEZBOLLAH'S CONVENTIONAL FORCES" by Bill Roggio (July 21, 2006)

WASHINGTON TIMES.com: Jerusalem - "HEZBOLLAH TRAINED FOR 6 YEARS, DUG DEEP BUNKERS" by Abraham Rabinovich (July 21, 2006)

IMRA.il: "HIZBULLAH REPEATS VOW OF DEATH TO ISRAELIS, AS PALESTINIAN AND SOME PAN-ARAB MEDIA ECHO HIZBALLAH'S CHOICE" by Micheael Widlanski (July 19, 2006)

JIHAD WATCH.org (YNET NEWS): "AL-WATAN: SYRIA, IRAN WILL COOPERATE TO PREVENT DISSOLUTION OF HIZBULLAH" (July 19, 2006)

WASHINGTON TIMES.com: "ELIMINATION OF HEZBOLLAH THE ULTIMATE GOAL" by Nicholas Kralev (July 19, 2006)

RichMedia.PajamasMedia.com: "BUNKER BLOGGER EUGENE" (mp3) (July 18, 2006)

JAMESTOWN.org - Terrorism Focus: "JIHADI WEB FORUMS REVEL IN LEBANON CONFRONTATION" by Chris Heffelfinger (July 18, 2006)

INTERNET-HAGANAH.com: "THE WEBSITES OF HIZBALLAH" (July 17. 2006)

TERRORISM-INFO.org.il - Information Bulletins: "HEZBOLLAH"

LittleGreenFootballs.com - weblog: "HIZBALLAH HUMAN SHIELD WATCH" (July 18, 2006)

WASHINGTON TIMES.com: "OFFICIALS HIT HEZBOLLAH SUPPORT" by Eric Pfeiffer (July 17, 2006)

MICHELLE MALKIN.com - blog: "G8 LEADERS: RETURN ISRAELI SOLDIERS" (July 16, 2006)

FOX NEWS.com (AP): "ISRAEL INTELLIGENCE: IRANIAN TROOPS HELPED HEZBOLLAH ATTACK WARSHIP" (July 15, 2006)

JIHAD WATCH.org (FOX NEWS.com): "ISRAELI MILITARY SAYS MISSILE STRUCK WARSHIP INSTEAD OF DRONE" (July 15, 2006)

MICHELLE MALKIN.com: "HEAT'S ON HEZBOLLAH" (July 14, 2006)

CNS NEWS.com: "IRAN, SYRIA USED HIZBULLAH AS PROXY TO ATTACK ISRAEL, ANALYSTS SAY" by Julie Stahl (July 13, 2006)

JIHAD WATCH.org (AP): "SAUDI ARABIA CRITICIZES HIZBULLAH...BUT ONLY ON TACTICS" (July 13, 2006)

WHITEHOUSE.gov - News Release: "STATEMENT ON CONDEMNATION OF HIZBALLAH KIDNAPPING OF TWO ISRAELI SOLDIERS" (July 12, 2006)

COUNTERTERRORISM BLOG.org: "IMAD MUGNIYAH LIKELY BEHIND THE CAPTURE OF ISRAELI SOLDIERS" by Bill Roggio (July 12, 2006)

stepping back in time...(Re: Mugniyah/Hezbollah) (July 19, 2006)

stepping back in time..."SHOULD HEZBOLLAH BE NEXT?" by Daniel Byman, Foreign Affairs (November/Decemberr, 2003)

stepping back in time...TCSdaily.com: "ONE COIN, TWO SIDES" by Greg Buete (January 3, 2003)

FBI.gov - MOST WANTED TERRORISTS - WANTED POSTER: "IMAD FAYEZ MUGNIYAH" aka "Hajj" (VIEW POSTER)

"www.waronline.org/terror/bin%20laden/mugniyah-2.jpg" (VIEW PHOTO)

All4Lebanon.org

Search.FBI.GOV - Term: "HIZBALLAH"

Search.FBI.GOV - Term: "HEZBOLLAH"

TKB.org - Group Profile: "HEZBOLLAH"

FreeRepublic.com - Keyword: "HEZBOLLAH"

FreeRepublic.com - Keyword: "HIZBALLAH"

MEMRITV.org - Video Clips: "HIZBULLAH"

MEMRITV.org - Video Clips: "HAMAS"

MEMRITV.org - Video Clips: "AL QAEDA"

HOT AIR.com - VENT with Michelle Malkin: "THE JIHADIS THAT YOU MEET EACH DAY" (July 21, 2006)

[Cindy]

http://www.defenselink.mil/news/Jul2006/20060721_5721.html

"Guard Provides Fire, Storm Recovery, Border Security Support"

By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, July 21, 2006

[Cindy]

Thanks to Tiger Likes Rooster for starting this thread and translation.

Note: The following posts and translation is a quote:
---

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1670763/posts


U.S. carefully watching possibility of N. Korea nuke test
Kyodo News ^ | 07/22/06

Posted on 07/23/2006 2:36:23 AM PDT by TigerLikesRooster

Saturday July 22, 4:44 PM

U.S. carefully watching possibility of N. Korea nuke test

(Kyodo) _ The United States is vigilantly watching the possibility of North Korea conducting a nuclear test now that it has test-fired ballistic missiles, a senior U.S. administration official told Kyodo News on Friday.

"I wouldn't rule it out," the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity, adding he is unaware of any indication from North Korea that it plans to test its nuclear weapons.

Asked if the United States is exercising "vigilance" about a nuclear test, the official said, "Very absolutely."

North Korea warned of bolstering its "war deterrent for self-defense in every way by all means" in a Foreign Ministry statement issued a day after the U.N. Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution July 15 condemning Pyongyang for the July 5 missile launches.

Asked if North Korea has the ability to conduct nuclear tests, the officials said, "I would assume so...It's not that hard to conduct one if you've got the fissile material and the device."

A nuclear test "would be quite counterproductive, but North Korea does things all the time that are counterproductive," he said.

But the official warned Pyongyang that it "would be yet another very provocative act...that further isolates them and further brings the international community together in terms of determination to react to this threat."

Expressing hope on the Chinese role, the official said he believes the missile launches "will move them closer to exercising more leverage" on North Korea to comply with the resolution to recommit to the 1999 missile-test moratorium and return to the six-party denuclearization talks.

"I've always thought that there could be a lot more that they could do in terms of exercising leverage," the official said.

The possibility of a North Korean nuclear test hit headlines in the spring of last year, raising international concern about the North's preparations at its test site.

But there has been no nuclear test so far.

TOPICS: Breaking News; Foreign Affairs; News/Current Events; War on Terror; Click to Add Topic
KEYWORDS: CHINA; ESCALATION; GEOPOLITICS; GWOT; KOREA; MISSILELAUNCH; NORTHKOREA; NUCLEARTEST; NUKE; US; VIGILANCE; WOT; Click to Add Keyword
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A related post:
N. Korea: Nuclear Test Possible If UN Sanction Is Imposed

/begin my translation

N. Korea: Nuclear Test Possible If UN Sanction Is Imposed

2006.07.13

If UN passes sanction against N. Korea, N. Korea may resort to nuclear test, according to some expert. Peter Hayes, a professor at Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology in Australia argued during an interview with RFA that Kim Jong-il may carry it out to show that he does not succumb to U.S. pressure.

Professor Hayes is an expert on energy and security issues. He has been running a project to build small power plants in N. Korea to solve its energy problem. He has visited N. Korea seven times for this project.

In the interview, he suspects that, based on his experience, domestic factors strongly influenced N. Korean decision to push ahead with missile launches. He was visiting N. Korea to discuss his project during 1998 launch of Taepodong-1 missile. At the time, a senior party official explained to Prof. Hayes that it is imperative for N. Korea to show defiance against U.S. because it will maintain pride among starving N. Korean population, and loyalty to Kim Jong-il from military and bureaucracy.

He thinks that things are no different now. Last September, joint agreement was reached at 6-party talks, but N. Korea must have concluded that no progress was made due to U.S. interference. As a result, Kim Jong-il may have found it necessary to side with military and hardliners in favor of missile launches, displaying that he is a strong leader, according to the professor.

Peter Hayes: It was incumbent upon Kim Jong Il to stand strong and be seen to be strong domestically.

External factor is also at play in the decision of N. Korean missile launches at this juncture, according to his analysis. That is, N. Korea may have concluded that it has nothing to lose. The ruling party in S. Korea was crushed in the local election of late May, which would lead to scaling down of aid to N. Korea(by S. Korea,) and U.S. showed no sign of accommodating N. Korean views on nuclear issue. Since China would not easily abandon N. Korea, N. Korea may have calculated that missile launches could provoke Japan which, in turn, draws U.S. attention.

However, Prof. Hayes predicted that, since Kim Jong-il managed to draw attention of the entire world by missile launches, it may go back to negotiation with U.S. again. Nevertheless, if UN Security Council is about to impose sanction of some kind on N. Korea, N. Korea would be severely humiliated, and Kim Jong-il may resort to nuclear test, in order to show that he does not bow to U.S. pressure, he added.

Peter Hayes: If the Security Council does deeply embarrass N. Korea, deeply push on N. Korea, then the other way for Kim Jong Il to recover is to conduct nuclear test.

He predicted that, even if N. Korea goes ahead with nuclear test, it will first show off preliminary steps to the test, to maximize its value as bargaining chip, before the final test.

Washing ton = Kim Yon-ho

/end my translation

1 posted on 07/23/2006 2:36:27 AM PDT by TigerLikesRooster
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies | Report Abuse ]

[Cindy]

Note: The following news brief is a quote:
---

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3280049,00.html




Breaking News




Peretz: 2,200 rockets fired at Israel so far


Defense Minister Amir Peretz estimated Sunday that some 2,200 rocket were fired at Israel since the fighting in the north began.

According to Peretz, a Hizbullah unit called "Nasr" that was stationed south of the Litani river was launching some 100 rockets at Israel a day. (Ronny Sofer)

(07.23.06, 12:47)

[Cindy]

ON THE NET...

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/keyword?k=syria
http://www.memri.org/syria.html

===
===

http://www.ynetnews.com
http://www.foxnews.com

http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&q=Syria&sa=N&tab=wn

[Cindy]

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1670767/posts?page=1


"North Korea Claims It Is Not Little Boy(it got nukes; ya, we know)"
Korea Times ^ | 07/23/06 | Park Song-wu

Posted on 07/23/2006 3:13:22 AM PDT by TigerLikesRooster

[nwctwx]

The bloody truth is that Israel's war is our war
UK: Times Online - Sunday Comment

George Bush and Tony Blair refuse to support United Nations calls for a ceasefire between Israel and fighters in Gaza and Lebanon. Our two countries risk both diplomatic isolation and criticism at home, since the toll of civilian casualties sickens public opinion across the world.

Caught unawares by a microphone in St Petersburg, Bush and Blair expressed no concern for the suffering. The president’s strategic analysis (“the irony is that what they need to do is get Syria to get Hezbollah to stop doing this **** and it’s all over”) was inadequate to say the least, and in the brief exchange Blair descended to Bush’s level of inarticulacy.

None of that means their policy is wrong. To explain why they might be right is an uphill struggle because many more innocents are dying in Lebanon than in Israel, making it easy to accuse the Jewish state of disproportionate violence. The proper question has to go beyond “how many civilians are dying today?” to “can Israel’s actions contribute to eventual peace?” The second question is legitimate because Israel is committed to extracting itself from much of the territory it has occupied since 1967. The proposal to pull out was so controversial among Israelis that Ariel Sharon, the last prime minister, left the Likud party. He created a new party, Kadima, which won office on its single issue promise of unilateral withdrawal. It will involve the destruction of some Jewish settlements.

Sharon’s unilateralism was criticised by both Israelis and Palestinians. But he could find no Palestinian leadership able to deliver and enforce a deal. The late Yasser Arafat was both ineffectual and in hock to the terrorists. Mahmoud Abbas, his successor as president of the Palestinian Authority, shows willing but is largely powerless, all the more so since Hamas took over the Palestinian government in a surprise election victory this year. The dual leadership of Abbas and Hamas illustrates the division in Palestinian public opinion between those willing to create a new state alongside Israel and those committed to Israel’s destruction.

In May Abbas proposed resolving that ambiguity with a referendum. He is willing to gamble that even though Hamas won the elections, the majority of Palestinians accept the two-state solution. A positive ballot would bring the Palestinians into line with the Arab League, which in 2002 voted to accept Israel’s existence if it gave up the occupied territories.

Before the question could be put, Hamas fighters kidnapped an Israeli soldier in a raid from Gaza, from which Sharon had withdrawn. A kidnap puts tremendous pressure on a government. It enrages public opinion and the crisis cannot end until the hostage is released or murdered. Presumably that is why the terrorists chose the tactic. Israel’s response to the abduction was bound to be “disproportionate”. Among Israelis the attack also discredits the policy of unilateral withdrawal because it seems to leave them vulnerable.

Optimists have hoped that Hamas might in time be willing to recognise Israel’s right to exist. It may yet happen but the kidnap is not a promising sign. In any case, if Israel and Hamas are to do business they must work that out for themselves. It is hard to see how US or European mediation could help.

Even the most sanguine pro-Arab apologist would not suggest that Hezbollah will soon be ready to recognise Israel. So in responding with massive force to the kidnapping of two more soldiers by Hezbollah, Israel is not only attempting to disarm a well-equipped hostile force. It would also marginalise a group that opposes the two-state solution, endorsed by most Arab countries. Both Egypt and Saudi Arabia have condemned Hezbollah’s aggression. If Hezbollah remains in control of large parts of Lebanon, then that country cannot enjoy stability and Israel will not gain peace even if it continues to withdraw from occupied areas. For Israelis only the prospect of security justifies the trading of captured land.

The American government will understand that position. Additionally, Bush does not want to imitate President Clinton, who in the last weeks of his incumbency staked enormous political capital on a comprehensive peace deal that Arafat rejected. Nor does he want to tell other countries to tread softly as they pursue terrorists across borders.

I was surprised by the Bush-Blair conversation. I have heard world leaders debate crises in private and none of those discussions compared with theirs in crude banality. The emphasis on Syria seems extraordinary too. Syria supports Hezbollah, not least with weaponry, but to believe that Syria could simply stop Hezbollah probably underplays Iran’s role.

The trouble that Syria and Iran can cause is sad testimony to the failure of American and British foreign policy. When our forces entered Iraq, Syria quaked. Its difficulties deepened following the assassination in Beirut of Rafik Hariri, the former Lebanese premier. At the time Syria occupied Lebanon and was blamed for the murder. Lebanese protesters forced Syria to pull out its troops.

The Damascus regime looked precarious. The ruling dynasty is Alawite (an offshoot of Shi’ism) in a country where Sunnis are the majority. President Bashar al-Assad was not groomed for high office — the heir apparent died in an accident. He flirted with liberalising the regime but was then pushed back by reactionary forces. Perhaps his weakness has proved a strength. Bush and Blair do not like him but they know he may be better than whatever might replace him. So he remains in place, pulling the strings in Lebanon.

Still worse for Bush and Blair will be if Iran emerges from this struggle with enhanced prestige, at least in the judgment of the Muslim world. Iran is a bad dream for the West — a theocratic regime bent on using terrorism to clone its model throughout the Shi’ite world. Hezbollah was founded to bring about such a transformation in Lebanon, and Iraq and Syria could be other targets. The Iranian president is committed to destroying Israel. Iran is working on a nuclear weapon and its agents are helping to kill Americans in Iraq.

When Bush recently accepted direct negotiations with Tehran on nuclear energy he reversed an American policy that had applied since the Iranian revolution of 1979. Perhaps that smacked of weakness, since the US’s reward is a Hezbollah attack on Israel that Iran probably pre-approved. Perhaps then it is not surprising that America is not hastening Israel towards a ceasefire.

Critics of Israel point out that bombing Lebanon provides fresh grievances for Palestinians and other Muslims. That is undoubtedly so, and it is exactly what Hamas, Hezbollah, Syria and Iran would wish. Israel is forced to choose between looking feeble (which will increase its vulnerability) or playing into its enemies’ hands through “disproportionate” action. Before we criticise Israel we should at least understand that dilemma and be aware that if we stoke up anti-Israeli feeling we dance to a devilish tune.

It is fashionable to treat Bush’s idea of a global war against terror with contempt, even though America and Britain have experienced murderous outrages on their home territory. We are battling Al-Qaeda (a Sunni movement) in Afghanistan and Iraq. In Iraq we face attack from Shi’ite as well as Sunni extremists. Al-Qaeda’s ambition to bring down governments across the Muslim world including Egypt and Saudi Arabia should have us worried. Iran’s aim to create a cluster of theocratic Shi’ite states committed to Israel’s destruction is just as alarming. The Al-Qaeda and Iranian menaces are different (and sometimes opposed) but they both threaten our interests.

America, Britain and Israel have all committed big policy errors. Perhaps they have made things worse and maybe they have stimulated recruitment to the enemy. But the present Israeli government was elected to make peace and did not depart from that course of its own volition. Its struggle against Hezbollah fits into a complex global jigsaw of battles against terror.

The death toll in Lebanon is repugnant. But if the kneejerk response of western public opinion is an upsurge in anti-Israeli and anti-American feeling then we misunderstand our interests and the threat to them from terror. For us to turn against Israel and America would be perverse and potentially suicidal.