Threat Matrix: February 2007

Previous Thread ^

[nwctwx]

How al-Qaida Fared in 2006
-Full Story-

In 2006, agents of al-Qaida, as well as those inspired by its ideology, continued their attacks. Violence in Iraq intensified, and Afghanistan saw its bloodiest year since 2001.

Despite worsening chaos on those fronts, counterterrorist forces arrested and killed high-profile terrorists and kept the West free from attack. But these actions don't appear to have weakened the appeal of al-Qaida's agenda. "Home-grown" militants around the world joined its jihad, as regional fighting heightened perceptions of a global war on Islam.

Here's an assessment of some of the most significant gains and losses for al-Qaida last year: Read more..

	Azzam the American: The Making of an al Qaida Homegrown
	Islamic Cells of Revenge Joins the al Qaida Movement
	Most Dangerous Destinations 2007

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[Cindy]

I wish for you and your husband, Orange Juice, sunshine, chicken soup, a good book and a lot of rest.

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Yep, YouTube and Google Videos and some Yahoo videos, too.

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The school should release the TB results. Everyone should be informed.

[Cindy]

Note: The following post is a quote:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1782688/posts


Turnpike crash kills Honduran diplomat (She is Nuria Ortiz Navarro, age 31)
Pittsburg Tribune-Review ^ | Friday, February 9, 2007 | Paul Pierce

Posted on 02/10/2007 2:26:26 PM PST by rawhide

An illegal immigrant from Ghana was driving a tractor-trailer that rear-ended a car on the Pennsylvania Turnpike in Westmoreland County on Thursday, killing a Honduran diplomat.

Trade specialist Nuria Ortiz Navarro, 31, a passenger in the back seat of a 1996 Volkswagen Jetta driven by her brother-in-law, was pronounced dead at the scene by Deputy Coroner F. Christopher O'Leath, according to state police in New Stanton...


The truck driver, Sam P. Thompson, 32, of Gaithersburg, Md., an employee of Transcare Systems Inc., of Bowie, Md., was arraigned on multiple criminal charges, including homicide by vehicle, following vehicles too closely, driving at an unsafe speed, careless driving, speeding and reckless driving.


...The Honduran embassy in Washington confirmed that Ortiz Navarro was a commercial attache working in the U.S. to promote the economic interests of her country.


Ortiz Navarro was the daughter of Mayra Navarro, a well-known television journalist in Tegucigalpa, the Honduran capital.

(Excerpt) Read more at pittsburghlive.com ...

[Cindy]

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1782733/posts

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http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticleNew.asp?xfile=data/subcontinent/2007/February/subcontinent_February352.xml&section=subcontinent

Khaleej Times Online >> News >> SUBCONTINENT

"4-yr-old Pakistani girl marries 45-yr-old"
(AFP)

9 February 2007

ARTICLE SNIPPET: "DERA ISMAIL KHAN, Pakistan - A four-year old girl was married to a 45-year-old man in a remote Pakistan town to settle a feud, leading to the arrest of 12 people from two families, police said Friday."

ARTICLE SNIPPET: "The minor, Sumaira, was given in marriage to the middle-aged man, Mahboob Ahmed, as a punishment because the girl’s maternal uncle, Mohammad Farooq, had eloped with the adult niece of the bridegroom, police said.

The punchayat imposed a fine of 150,000 rupees (2,500 dollars) on Farooq and ordered him to give a young girl from his family to Mahboob, police spokesman Malik Ramazan told AFP."

[Cindy]

RECAP and UPDATE:

ISLAM-WATCH.org: "MEET BRITAIN'S IZZADEEN: SHARIA LAW WILL CONQUER THE INFIDELS" by Adrian Morgan (February 10, 2007)

YouTube.com: "Anjem Choudary On Izzadeen Arrest" (Added February 08, 2007)

BBC NEWS: "ACTIVIST HELD UNDER TERRORISM ACT" (ARTICLE SNIPPET: "Mr Izzadeen, 31, is being held at a central London police station under Section 1 of the Terrorism Act 2006.He has been associated for some years with radical Islamist politics in the UK and has been a member of two now illegal groups, Al Muhajiroun and Al Ghurabba." ARTICLE SNIPPET: " In September, Mr Izzadeen, who was born Trevor Brooks in London, interrupted Mr Reid's speech at the public meeting in Leytonstone.") (Last updated February 8, 2007, 17:50 GMT)

JIHAD WATCH.org (ITN): "UK" JIHADIST STANDS BY CALL TO BEHEAD MUSLIMS WHO JOIN BRITISH ARMY" (SNIPPET: "Although he also stands by the claim that his words were 'taken out of context.'") (February 6, 2007)

JIHAD WATCH.org (ITV NEWS): "'He who joins the British Army, the American Army, he is a mortal kaffir and his only hukum (punishment) is for his head to be removed'" (February 5, 2007)

OSINT.INTERNET-HAGANAH.com (THE SUNDAY TIMES): "AL-QAEDA TELLS BRITISH CELLS TO CARRY OUT WAVE OF BEHEADINGS" (February 4, 2007)

[Cindy]

RECAP and UPDATE:

http://littlegreenfootballs.com/weblog/?entry=24383_UK_Islamic_School_Teaching_Hatred_(More_Info)&only
Saturday, February 10, 2007
"UK Islamic School Teaching Hatred (More Info)"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3nmEGSmL7nU&eurl=
"Islamic School update."
(Added February 09, 2007)

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http://www.jihadwatch.org/archives/015211.php

February 10, 2007

"'It is regrettable that the ignorant among our people follow the way of the Jews and the Christians'"

[Cindy]

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/keyword?k=iran
http://truthusa.com/IRAN.html
http://www.memri.org/iran.html

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RECAP and A Few More Details UPDATE:

http://www.jihadwatch.org/archives/015214.php

February 10, 2007

"Study says Iran textbooks urge 'martyrdom'"

[Cindy]

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/keyword?k=obama
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1782742/posts

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http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,21207082-1702,00.html

"Al-Qaeda praying for Obama win, says PM"

February 11, 2007 10:59am


ARTICLE SNIPPET: "PRIME Minister John Howard has blasted US presidential candidate Barack Obama, saying his policy of withdrawing troops from Iraq will destabilise the entire Middle East.

Senator Obama, who is aiming to be the first black American president, has vowed to withdraw US forces if elected. But first, he must secure the Democratic nomination by overcoming his chief rival, Hillary Clinton.

Senator Obama has introduced a bill to remove US combat forces from Iraq by March 31 next year - but the legislation has virtually no chance of becoming law while George W Bush is president, and the presidential election is not until November 2008.

In a strongly worded foray into US politics today, Mr Howard said an Obama victory in the presidential election would be disastrous for the war on terrorism.

"I think he's wrong. I think that will just encourage those who want to completely destabilise and destroy Iraq, and create chaos and a victory for the terrorists to hang on and hope for an Obama victory," Mr Howard said on Channel 9.

"If I were running al-Qaeda in Iraq, I would put a circle around March 2008 and be praying as many times as possible for a victory not only for Obama but also for the Democrats.""

[Cindy]

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1782759/posts

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3363205,00.html

"IDF soldiers thwart terror attack"
Palestinian teen caught at West Bank checkpoint with two explosive devices weighing 1.5 kilos each
Efrat Weiss

Published: 02.10.07, 12:37 / Israel News

ARTICLE SNIPPET: "Two explosive devices weighing 1.5 kilos each (about 3.3 pounds) were found by IDF soldiers Saturday during a routine search of a Palestinian teen’s belongings at the Hawara checkpoint, south of Nablus in the West Bank.

Border Guard sappers dispatched to the scene conducted a controlled-detonation of the devices, and the 16-year-old Palestinian was taken in for interrogation by Israeli security forces.


It remains unclear whether the teen was supposed to transfer the devices to someone else or carry out a terror attack on his own.

Palestinian sources said he is a member of the al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades, Fatah’s armed wing."

[Cindy]

http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/tw/tw_922.html

Travel Warning
United States Department of State
Bureau of Consular Affairs
Washington, DC 20520

This information is current as of today, Sat Feb 10 2007 17:45:35 GMT-0800.

ISRAEL, THE WEST BANK AND GAZA

January 17, 2007

[Cindy]

http://www.truthusa.com/MoreThanCartoons.html

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1782730/posts

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http://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/news/city/2007/02/10/db6a35e6-76a4-4628-abf8-065fe366ddb8.lpf

"Muslims outraged by use of cartoon"
(February 10, 2007)

[Cindy]

RECAP and UPDATE thanks to a Special Emailer.

Adding to post no. 543:

http://www.jihadwatch.org/dhimmiwatch/archives/015204.php
(AFP)

February 09, 2007
"4-year-old Pakistani girl given in marriage to 45-year-old"

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http://www.jihadwatch.org/dhimmiwatch/archives/015207.php
(IANS)

February 10, 2007
"45-yr-old divorces 4-yr-old wife"

[Velveeta]

Yep, tis the season.
We've all been passing around the stomach flu, but everyone is on the mend now.
Prayers for hubby.

[Velveeta]

Brother of slain Dearborn man wants answers

For more than five years, Gus Kassem believed his brother, Walid Fouad Alyoussef, was missing. He searched the depths of Detroit and even looked for a homeless man who matched his brother's description.

Kassem remained close to his sister-in-law, her parents and his nephew, visiting them frequently and attending family weddings and funerals. But his missing brother was constantly on his mind — and then the mystery was cracked wide open.

Mohammed El-Astal, 68, is charged with murdering Alyoussef, his son-in-law. (snip)
http://www.pressandguide.com/stories/021107/loc_20070211002.shtml

[Cindy]

August 2001..that's interesting Velveeta.
Thanks for pointing to that article.

[Cindy]

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1782836/posts?page=4#4

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Thanks for Fair Opinion for the ping to this thread.
Note: The following post is a quote:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1782836/posts


Terrorism: Al-Qaeda Web Monthly Back After Year's Break
ADN Kronos International ^ | Feb. 10, 2007 | News

Posted on 02/10/2007 11:09:47 PM PST by FairOpinion

After more than a year's absence, the jihadi propaganda monthly "Voice of Jihad" (Sawt-al-Jihad), edited by the Saudi cell of the al-Qaeda terrorist network, has reappeared on the Internet. The new issue - the 30th - opens with an editorial threatening the Saudi regime and welcoming the birth of "an Islamic emirate" in Iraq by local al-Qaeda cells. "Voice of Jihad" was launched in 2003 covering mainly ideological and doctrinal issues concerning the mujahadeen in the Arabian Peninsula.

"As for us, we have begun a new year and we ask Allah that it be a year of victory," reads the editorial. “For some time now we have been preparing important operations which will make the crusader (i.e. American) bases on the Arab peninsula tremble and the aim of the mujahadeen will be to cleanse the peninsula of the pagans and the crusader bases" - a reference to US military posts in the region.

The editorial concludes with a message to the leader of al-Qaeda, Osama bin Laden. “We say to our emir, Sheikh Osama bin Laden, that we will continue on his path. Your soldiers are working, planning and preparing something which will make him and all true believers very happy. We pray to Allah that all will go well until the arrival of zero hour," it added.

The magazine also carries a claim of responsibility for an attack by Islamist terrorists against a Saudi oil refinery at Baqiq, on 24 February 2006.

It concludes with an interview with a doctor of Moroccan origin living in France, who in the 1990s decided to fight alongside the Bosnian mujahadeen, and a corner dedicated to readers, who are invited to write to the jihadi publication on the site http://contactus.arabform.com

[Cindy]

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

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http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1782835/posts


"Al-Qaeda 'in plot to attack France'"
Sydney Morning Herald ^ | February 11 2007 | na

Posted on 02/10/2007 10:57:02 PM PST by fishhound

[Cindy]

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

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http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1782847/posts

"Protests and violence in Priština"
B92 ^ | 10 February 2007

Posted on 02/11/2007 12:39:43 AM PST by tgambill

Priština

[Cindy]

http://www.washingtontimes.com/world/20070210-105307-2532r.htm

"U.S. to reveal Tehran's link to Iraq insurgency"
By Katherine Shrader
ASSOCIATED PRESS
February 11, 2007

ARTICLE SNIPPET: "The Iran dossier, some 200 pages thick in its classified form, was revised heavily after officials decided it was not ready for release as planned last month."

ARTICLE SNIPPET: "Officials from several intelligence agencies scrutinized the presentation to make sure it was clear and that "we don't in any way jeopardize our sources and methods in making the presentation," State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said Friday. "


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[Cindy]

Note: The following text is a quote:
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http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2007/02/20070208-5.html

For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
February 8, 2007

President Bush Discusses Department of Homeland Security Priorities
Department of Homeland Security
Washington, D.C.






President's Remarks



In Focus: Homeland Security
In Focus: National Security

4:20 P.M. EST

THE PRESIDENT: Mr. Secretary, thank you very much for the hospitality. I appreciate you inviting me over to hear what has been a substantive briefing by your different operating entities.

First of all, I'm very proud of the hard work of the men and women of the Homeland Security Department. This vital department is actively engaged in the war on terror. We are still a nation at risk. Part of our strategy, of course, is to stay on the offense against terrorists who would do us harm. In other words, it is important to defeat them overseas so we never have to face them here. Nevertheless, we recognize that we've got to be fully prepared here at the homeland.

Part of that preparation requires a robust budget. We submitted the budget, you testified on the budget. It's about an 8 percent increase in the budget of the Homeland Security Department.

This department works to secure our borders. I appreciate very much, Ralph, you and your department's hard work of doing a difficult job, and that is doing what the American people expect and that is to have secure borders. But we're making good progress. We're modernizing a border that needed to be modernized, whether it be through fencing or the different types of high-tech investments.

I firmly believe that in order for your Border Patrol agents to be able to do their job, we need a guest worker program so that people don't have to sneak in our country, and therefore, we can really enable your good folks to be able to focus on terrorism, drug runners, gun runners.

I appreciate so very much the fact that we've got a wise strategy to effect the security of our ports and cargo. We've got a lot of good people working hard overseas. In other words, we're inspecting cargo before it leaves a port -- foreign port -- so that the first line of defense is away from our shores, or away from our ports. And we've got a lot of good people working hard to achieve that.

I appreciate so very much the effort of TSA. You've got a hard job. It's a job that really was a response to 9/11, and that is we don't want people getting on our airplanes that will terrorize our fellow citizens again. I fully recognize that there are thousands of hardworking people that are trying to do their best to, on the one hand, accommodate our fellow citizens as they travel; on the other hand, protect our country from attack.

We also talked about the need to have effective response if there is a emergency, if there is a catastrophe. And one agency that has been under fire and that needed to be reorganized was FEMA, and I asked David Paulison to do just that. We took the lessons learned from Katrina and applied it to this vital agency. And this agency was recently tested through the tornadoes there in central Florida. And I want to thank you, Dave, and your team for a quick response to help the poor citizens who were affected by that natural disaster.


The Department of Homeland Security was initially melded together by organizations that tended to be stove-piped -- independently run organizations that we felt needed to be brought under the central planning, the central organizing principle of a single department. The organization of such a vast enterprise has been difficult and complicated; nevertheless, there is noticeable and substantial and measurable progress.

And I appreciate all the hardworking folks for putting together an institute, part of our government, all aiming to protect the American people.

And so, Secretary, thank you for the invitation. I appreciate the hard work of the people of this department. I oftentimes say to the American people that you can go about your business, you can run your enterprises, you can send your children to school, knowing full well that there are thousands of our fellow citizens who work every day, 24 hours, to help you by protecting this homeland. And this is where it all starts. And I thank you for your hard work.

Thank you.

END 4:25 P.M. EST

[Cindy]

Note: The following text is a quote:

http://www.assistnews.net/Stories/2007/s07020055.htm

SSIST 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


Friday, February 9, 2007

Indonesian Churches Urge Government to Stop Persecution

By Jeremy Reynalds
Correspondent for ASSIST News Service

MANADO, INDONESIA (ANS) -- Pastors attending a nationwide conference of Protestant churches have urged the Indonesian government to focus on stopping the country’s persecution of Christians and quickly begin solving the nation’s social problems.
The five-day conference, held between Jan. 22 and Jan. 26, drew 282 participants from 82 Protestant churches throughout Indonesia. There were also some foreign guests.

Salem Voice Ministries (SVM) noted in a news release that among other issues, conference leaders asked the government to stop the implementation of Shari'a (Islamic) law, solve a number of killings in Poso and treat indigenous Papuan people fairly.

Conference chairman Rev. Andreas Yewangoe told participants churches see that commitment to nation building has faded, as a result of the differing agendas of a number of factions. As a result, he said, it is vital that the government renew its commitment to the "common good" by acting on various issues threatening the country.

Speaking in a SVM news release Yewangoe said, "It is because the churches are an integral part of the nation we decided to remind the government of the commitment to the common good."

The conference statement also urged that Islamic law be secondary to local laws in secular Indonesia.

SVM pointed out that Indonesia has the world's largest Muslim population but is not an Islamic state. Christian leaders attending the conference cautioned that implementation of Islam’s Shari'a law could divide the nation. Moreover, they maintained that some district heads and governors are enthusiastic about implementing Shari'a in order to strengthen their political standing.

While Aceh is the only one of Indonesia's 33 provinces that is allowed to enforce Shari'a law, 22 district and municipal governments have adopted portions of Islamic law, the statement issued by the pastors read.

Many of the leaders at the conference emphasized the Indonesian government must solve the legacy of violence in Poso quickly and peacefully.

On Jan. 22, anti-terrorist police in Poso, a coastal town in Central Sulawesi province, clashed with suspected militants. This resulted in the deaths of 14 people including a policeman. SVM reported that the police raid came after 29 suspects on a most wanted list failed to meet a police ultimatum to surrender by Nov. 2006.

According SVM, the suspected militants are accused of keeping weapons and being involved in the Christian-Muslim clashes that gripped Poso from 1998 until 2001. Periodic violence has continued since then. Militants are accused of burning homes and churches, killing Protestant pastors and Christian girls, attacking policemen and bombing markets.

With residents of the predominantly Christian and tribal Papua province facing discrimination, the conference statement also called on the government to treat Papuans fairly by ensuring them equal opportunities in all fields.

SVM noted that an armed separatist movement has existed ever since Papua, formerly a Dutch colony, passed to Indonesian control in 1963. A special autonomy law that then-president Megawati Soekarnoputri ratified in 2001 gave Papuans hope that their human rights would be improved. However, SVM noted, there has been no real change, with Papuans being still deprived of their rights and experiencing ongoing injustice.

Salem Voice Ministries spreads the gospel in India and third world nations For more information go to http://salemvoice.org/about.html

Jeremy Reynalds is a freelance writer and the founder and director of Joy Junction, New Mexico's largest emergency homeless shelter, http://www.joyjunction.org or http://www.christianity.com/joyjunction. He has a master's degree in communication from the University of New Mexico, and a Ph.D. in intercultural education from Biola University in Los Angeles. His newest book is "Homeless in the City: A Call to Service." Additional details about "Homeless" are available at http://www.HomelessBook.com He lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico. For more information contact: Jeremy Reynalds at jeremyreynalds@comcast.net. Tel: (505) 877-6967 or (505) 400-7145. Note: A higher resolution JPEG picture of Jeremy Reynalds is available on request from Dan Wooding at danjuma1@aol.com.

** You may republish this story with proper attribution.