Threat Matrix: May 2007

U.S. Seeks Closing of Visa Loophole for Britons
-Full Story-

Omar Khyam, the ringleader of the thwarted London bomb plot who was sentenced to life imprisonment on Monday, showed the potential for disaffected young men to be lured as terrorists, a threat that British officials said they would have to contend with for a generation.

But the 25-year-old Mr. Khyam, a Briton of Pakistani descent, also personifies a larger and more immediate concern: as a British citizen, he could have entered the United States without a visa, like many of an estimated 800,000 other Britons of Pakistani origin.

American officials, citing the number of terror plots in Britain involving Britons with ties to Pakistan, expressed concern over the visa loophole. In recent months, the homeland security secretary, Michael Chertoff, has opened talks with the government here on how to curb the access of British citizens of Pakistani origin to the United States.

	How the Plot Came Together
	Briefing on Release of 2006 Country Reports on Terrorism
	Iran to Tell Coalition Forces to Leave Iraq at Summit in Egypt

Thread Forty-Eight

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Note: The following text is a quote:

http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=46096

Afghan National Army, Coalition Soldiers Battle Enemy in Kapisa

American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, May 20, 2007 – Enemy forces attacked elements of 1st Kandak, 1st Brigade, 201st Afghan National Army Corps and coalition forces in the Al Asay Valley of Kapisa province, Afghanistan, close to midnight on May 18, Defense Department officials reported.

The ANA and coalition troops, who were on a patrol at the time, returned fire and began maneuvering out of the enemy ambush site, officials said. Enemy forces continued their assault and attempted to reinforce their ambush positions. They also emplaced improvised explosive devices along the route in a failed attempt to trap ANA and coalition forces. Coalition aircraft engaged enemy positions and fighters along the route.

Several dozen enemy fighters were estimated to have been killed during the engagement and there were no reports of any Afghan civilian injuries or property damage.

“Afghan National Army and coalition forces are committed to supporting the government of Afghanistan,” said Maj. Chris Belcher, a Combined Joint Task Force 82 spokesman. “With the support of the Afghan people and Afghan National Army, coalition forces will maintain peace and stability to the area.”

(Compiled from Combined Task Force 82 Press Information Center releases.)

Note: The following text is a quote:

http://www.ice.gov/pi/news/newsreleases/articles/070518sanjuan.htm

May 18, 2007

ICE Seizes 1,000 Pounds of Cocaine with a Street Value of $7 Million in Multi-Agency Operation
Three Dominican Nationals Arrested and Charged

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico - One thousand pounds of cocaine with a street value of $7 million were seized here Wednesday morning by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) special agents working jointly with other federal officers assigned to the Caribbean Corridor Initiative (CCI).

As a result of the joint investigative efforts by CCI participants, the United Kingdom naval frigate HMS Ocean, with a U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) law enforcement detachment on board, recovered approximately 12 bales containing 1,000 pounds of cocaine from international waters after witnessing the airdrop of the contraband to a go-fast boat.

Coast Guard personnel assigned to the law enforcement detachment on board of the HMS Ocean detained Epifanio Matos-Rochitt, 40, Manolo Soto-Perez, 34 and Ramon Colrasco-Colrasco, 41, and arranged their transfer to the Coast Guard base in San Juan where federal agents participating in the Caribbean Corridor Initiative waited to arrest them and seize the contraband.

“ICE is committed to working with our federal, state and local counterparts in an effort to stop the movement of contraband in the Caribbean,” said Manuel Oyola Torres, special agent in charge of the ICE Office of Investigations in San Juan. “Those involved in drug trafficking should know that the Caribbean is no longer an option to transship narcotics into the United States.”

The Caribbean Corridor strike force investigates South American-based drug trafficking organizations responsible for the movement of multi-kilogram quantities of narcotics utilizing the Caribbean as a transshipment point for further distribution to the United States. The initiative is composed of ICE, the United States Attorney for the District of Puerto Rico; the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA); the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI); U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and the U.S. Coast Guard.

Those arrested yesterday were transferred to the Metropolitan Detention Center in Guaynabo, Puerto Rico where they will remain awaiting the outcome of their case.

— ICE —

http://www.treas.gov/press/releases/reports/0517%20zambada%20garcia%20network%20chart.pdf

Note: The following text is a quote:

http://www.treas.gov/press/releases/hp410.htm

May 17, 2007
HP-410

Treasury Identifies Financial Network of
Ismael Zambada Garcia

The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) today designated six companies and twelve individuals in Mexico that act as fronts for Ismael Zambada Garcia, the leader of a Sinaloa, Mexico-based drug trafficking organization. Ismael Zambada Garcia was named as a Tier I drug kingpin by President George W. Bush on May 31, 2002, pursuant to the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act (Kingpin Act).

“Zambada Garcia is one of Mexico’s most powerful drug kingpins and a fugitive from justice,” said Adam Szubin, Director of the Office of Foreign Assets Control. “Today’s action further exposes the network of front companies and financial associates that Zambada Garcia uses to hide and launder his drug monies and cuts them off from the U.S. financial system.”

The OFAC designation targets Nueva Industria de Ganaderos de Culiacan S.A. de C.V., a large, Sinaloa, Mexico-based cattle and dairy company. Zambada Garcia’s former spouse, Rosario Niebla Cardoza, and their four adult daughters, Maria Teresa, Midiam Patricia, Monica del Rosario, and Modesta Zambada Niebla, are also designated today on the basis of their role in the ownership or control of Zambada Garcia front companies and assets in Mexico. Other companies designated today are Establo Puerto Rico S.A. de C.V., Jamaro Constructores S.A. de C.V., Multiservicios Jeviz S.A. de C.V., Estancia Infantil Niño Feliz S.C., and Rosario Niebla Cardoza A. en P.

Ismael Zambada Garcia is a U.S. fugitive and the State Department has offered a $5 million dollar reward for information leading to his arrest. In January 2003, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia returned an indictment against Ismael Zambada Garcia and two key lieutenants, Javier Torres Felix and his son Vicente Zambada Niebla. Javier Torres Felix was extradited to the United States in December 2006.

“The Zambada Garcia organization cannot hide behind front companies like the Sinaloa cattle and dairy business,” said DEA Administrator Karen P. Tandy. “We’re working with OFAC to expose these traffickers’ front companies for what they really are – not legitimate businesses, but illegal cash cows that fuel the drug trade, its violence and corruption. We’re relentlessly following the financial trail to deprive these traffickers of their assets, draining the lifeblood from their criminal drug enterprises.”

This action is part of an ongoing U.S. Government effort under the Kingpin Act to apply financial measures against significant foreign drug kingpins worldwide. More than 300 businesses and individuals associated with the 62 drug kingpins have been designated since June 2000. Today’s designation would not have been possible without key support from the Drug Enforcement Administration.

Today’s designation action freezes any assets the 18 designees may have under U.S. jurisdiction and prohibits U.S. persons from conducting financial or commercial transactions with these individuals and entities. Penalties for violations of the Kingpin Act range from civil penalties of up to $1,075,000 per violation to more severe criminal penalties. Criminal penalties for corporate officers may include up to 30 years in prison and fines of up to $5,000,000. Criminal fines for corporations may reach $10,000,000. Other individuals face up to 10 years in prison for criminal violations of the Kingpin Act.

REPORTS

Chart of Zambada Garcia’s financial network

Note: The following text is a quote:

http://www.usdoj.gov/dea/pubs/states/newsrel/nyc051107a.html

United States Announces Arrest of Taliban-Linked Afghan Heroin Trafficker On Charges of Conspiring To Import Millions of Dollars Worth Of Heroin

MAY 11 — MICHAEL J. GARCIA, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and KAREN P. TANDY, the Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Agency (”DEA”), announced today the arrest of MOHAMMAD ESSA, a/k/a “Haji Saheb,” a/k/a “Abdullah,” who is charged with conspiring to import approximately $25 million worth of heroin from Afghanistan and Pakistan into the United States and other countries. ESSA, previously in custody in Afghanistan, consented to his removal to the United States, and arrived in New York on April 27, 2007; he was presented in Magistrate Court and was ordered detained pending trial. ESSA’s first appearance before United States District Judge DENNY CHIN took place this afternoon. According to the Indictment and statements made during ESSA’s first appearance in Manhattan federal court:

From approximately 1990 until January 2005, ESSA was a member of an international heroin trafficking organization led by BAZ MOHAMMAD (the “Baz Mohammad Organization”), an organization that was responsible for manufacturing and transporting hundreds of kilograms of heroin in Afghanistan and Pakistan. During the course of the conspiracy, the Baz Mohammad Organization controlled opium fields in Afghanistan where poppies were grown and harvested to generate opium. After the opium was harvested, the Baz Mohammad Organization used laboratories in Afghanistan and Pakistan to process the opium into heroin. The Organization then arranged to transport the heroin from Afghanistan into the United States and other countries where it was sold for tens of millions of dollars. ESSA is one of the co-conspirators alleged to have managed the distribution of heroin by the Baz Mohammad Organization’s operatives in the United States and elsewhere.

The Baz Mohammad Organization was closely aligned with the Taliban in Afghanistan, and allegedly provided financial support to the Taliban in Afghanistan. In exchange for this support, the Taliban provided the Baz Mohammad Organization with protection for its opium crops, heroin laboratories, drug-transportation routes, and members and associates. From 1994 through 2000, ESSA and his co-conspirators collected heroin proceeds in the United States for the Taliban.

(As announced in previous releases by this Office, MOHAMMAD, a foreign narcotics kingpin designated under the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act, was extradited from Afghanistan to the United States in October 2005 — the first such extradition in history. MOHAMMAD was extradited pursuant to Article 3(1) of the 1988 United Nations Convention against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances. MOHAMMAD pleaded guilty on July 11, 2006, to conspiring to import heroin into the United States. MOHAMMAD faces a maximum sentence of life in prison and a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years’ imprisonment.)

Mr. GARCIA praised the investigative efforts of the New York and New Jersey Field Divisions of the DEA. Mr. GARCIA also commended the work of the New York Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Strike Force, which is comprised of law enforcement agencies including the DEA, New York City Police Department, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Internal Revenue Service, Federal Bureau of Investigation and the New York State Police.

Mr. GARCIA added: “This important arrest reflects our continuing cooperation with law enforcement partners around the world to combat international narcotics trafficking. Our coordinated efforts are vital both because of the harm that drug trafficking causes in the United States and because of the destabilizing influence that drug trafficking has on Afghanistan.”

“If you want a clear picture of the link between drugs and terrorism, look at MOHAMMAD ESSA,” said DEA Administrator TANDY. “ESSA is a terrorist and a trafficker — as part of the Baz Mohammad trafficking group he supported the insurgency in Afghanistan with drug profits, and helped carry out BAZ MOHAMMAD’s ‘jihad’ against the U.S. by supplying tens of millions of dollars of heroin to our country. An adversary of American democracy, ESSA will now face one of its finest institutions — the American justice system.”

The return of ESSA was made possible through the consent and assistance of the Afghan justice officials and the support of the DEA Country Office and the DOJ Senior Federal Prosecutors Program in Kabul.

This prosecution is being handled by the International Narcotics Trafficking Unit of the United States Attorney’s Office. Assistant United States Attorneys AMY FINZI and JOCELYN E. STRAUBER are in charge of the prosecution.

The charges contained in the Indictment are merely accusations and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

###

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

Note: The following post is a quote:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1836998/posts

China aims to launch moon probe this year [ “Moan” Zedong Alert!]
Yahoo!News.com ^ | 5/20/07 | Yahoo!News.com

Posted on 05/20/2007 10:27:45 PM PDT by melt

BEIJING (AFP) - China aims to launch its first lunar orbiter later this year, part of a three-step plan it hopes will eventually see moon samples brought back to Earth, state media said Sunday.

The launch of the Chang’e I, envisaged in the second half of 2007, would be a landmark for China’s space programme, China’s space agency chief Sun Laiyan was quoted as saying by the official Xinhua news agency.

“The moon probe project is the third milestone in China’s space technology after satellite and manned spacecraft projects, and a first step for us in exploring deep space,” he said in the report.

(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...

http://www.mnf-iraq.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=11953&Itemid=21

May 21, 2007
Release A070521b

FIVE IRAQI HOSTAGES FREED

BAGHDAD, Iraq – Five Iraqis who were held captive and tortured by terrorists were freed Monday morning during a Coalition Forces raid on the site where they were imprisoned.

Coalition Forces targeted the building northeast of Karmah during continued operations to disrupt the al-Qaeda network operating in the area. After a thorough search of the building, ground forces found a padlocked room. Inside were four men and a boy who had been kidnapped and severely beaten with chains, cables and hoses. The four captives also showed signs of torture, and the boy stated the terrorists had hooked electrical wires to his tongue and shocked him.

Coalition Forces evacuated the five individuals and provided treatment for their injuries. The hostages indicated their captors were foreign fighters who spoke with different accents. The hostages, who are from different tribes, will be turned over to their respective tribal leaders for repatriation.

“The brutality and viciousness of these acts demonstrate the complete disregard terrorists have for human life,” said Lt. Col. Christopher Garver, MNF-I spokesperson. “We will continue to hunt foreign fighters who bring this violence into Iraq.”

-30-

Note: The following text is a quote:

http://www.mnf-iraq.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=11953&Itemid=21

May 21, 2007
Release A070521b

FIVE IRAQI HOSTAGES FREED

BAGHDAD, Iraq – Five Iraqis who were held captive and tortured by terrorists were freed Monday morning during a Coalition Forces raid on the site where they were imprisoned.

-30-

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

http://www.cnsnews.com/ViewCulture.asp?Page=/Culture/archive/200705/CUL20070521a.html

Christians, Veterans Team Up to Protect Religious Memorials
By Nathan Burchfiel
CNSNews.com Staff Writer
May 21, 2007

ARTICLE SNIPPET: “(CNSNews.com) - The nation’s largest veterans’ service organization is teaming up with two Christian legal groups in an effort aimed at protecting Christian-themed war memorials from lawsuits that would remove them from public property.

The American Legion is asking its members to contribute to a catalog of war memorials that feature crosses and other religious symbols. The group will monitor its database of memorials and will notify the Alliance Defense Fund and the Liberty Legal Institute of any attempts by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and similar groups to challenge their constitutionality.”

http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=28392

“Fight on, Lebanon”
By Elias Bejjani
FrontPageMagazine.com | May 21, 2007

ARTICLE SNIPPET: “In my capacity as the Lebanese Canadian Coordinating Council (LCCC) chairman, I strongly denounce the criminal attack against the Lebanese Army and Security Forces in North Lebanon over the weekend by gunmen of the “Fatah al-Islam” group which is affiliated – in decision-making and in weapons – with the Syrian Intelligence Services.
The rulers in Damascus had brought in its mercenary fighters several months ago to the Palestinian Camps in Lebanon with the objective of stirring strife, creating an anarchy situation, obstructing the creation of the International Tribunal and, most importantly, prevent the rise of a strong self-reliant Lebanese State and institutions that would spread its control over every inch of Lebanese soil and disarm the militias and impose the rule of law.

It is worth mentioning in this context that the Syrian intelligence militia, camouflaged under the name of “Fatah al-Islam,” was behind the bus bombing crime in the town of Ain Alaq in the North Meten Lebanese region that killed innocent Lebanese civilians this past February.

The LCCC holds the Syrian regime and the Lebanese opposition in all its factions fully responsible for the bloody clashes and demands the Lebanese and international judiciary prosecute its leadership for the attacks it has committed on the legitimacy of the Lebanese State, obstructing the operation of its constitutional institutions, creating a state of security anarchy, undermining the Lebanese economy and impoverishing the Lebanese people and pushing them to emigrate.”

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

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/keyword?k=russia
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/keyword?k=burma
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/keyword?k=myanmar

http://www.washingtontimes.com/world/20070520-103355-1135r.htm

Nuke reactor strains U.S.-Russia relations
By Nicholas Kralev
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
May 21, 2007

ARTICLE SNIPPET: “Russian plans to build a nuclear reactor for Burma have introduced yet another thorn into the Bush administration’s prickly relationship with Moscow.

Although the 10-megawatt reactor for low-enriched uranium is envisioned as a research facility, the State Department last week criticized the project as lacking a regulatory framework.

“It’s not a good idea,” State Department spokesman Tom Casey told reporters. “Burma has neither the regulatory nor the legal framework or safeguard provisions or other kinds of things that you would expect or want to see for a country to be able to handle successfully a nuclear program of this type.”

Mr. Casey said Burma, officially called Myanmar, does not have a nuclear regulatory commission or any safeguards to prevent accidents, environmental damage or proliferation.”

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/keyword?k=irhabi007
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/keyword?k=terrorist007

UPDATE:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1603333/posts?page=46#46

UPDATE:

http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/law/article1811095.ece

From The Times
May 19, 2007

“Just a case of playing Devil’s advocate for website judge”
Frances Gibb, Legal Editor

ARTICLE SNIPPET: “A spokesman for the Judicial Communications Office added: “The judge knew perfectly well what a website was. He was in a sense playing Devil’s advocate, asking the questions that a member of the jury might want to ask.”

After the judge’s comments the court was treated on Thursday to a PowerPoint demonstration by the computer expert giving evidence, Peter Sams. He explained that the internet was a “complex communication system” and “you need to log into the system through a telephone cable or perhaps a television cable”. The professor then explained the terms “dial-up” and “broadband”.

In the trial the defendants – Younis Tsouli, 23, Waseem Mughal, 24, and Tariq al-Daour, 21, who deny the charges – are accused of helping to distribute Islamic propaganda over the internet in support of al-Qaeda. Mr Tsouli, of West London, is said to have had links to an al-Qaeda group in Iraq. The trial continues.”

46 posted on 05/21/2007 4:00:33 AM PDT by Cindy

Looking more than Gaza, Hamas, etc....
http://off-topic.internet-haganah.com/

And looking more at Lebanon:

http://osint.internet-haganah.com/archives/001151.html
May 20, 2007
“Fatah al-Islam [Lebanon] on the offensive in north Lebanon”

http://osint.internet-haganah.com/archives/001150.html
May 20, 2007

“Terrorist financing the old-fashioned way...

...by bank robbery.”

Let’s see, an act of nature...

http://osint.internet-haganah.com/archives/001149.html

May 20, 2007

“Hmmm. I wonder how well those Hizballah weapons bunkers drain?
Storms Wreak Havoc in Chouf, Bekaa”

http://worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=55796

“Al-Qaida recruiting black bombers
Pitch to African-Americans invokes ‘martyr’ Malcolm X”
Posted: May 21, 2007
1:00 a.m. Eastern

ARTICLE SNIPPET: “Al-Qaida is aggressively recruiting black Americans for suicide operations against the homeland, say FBI analysts who have reviewed recent videotaped messages from the terror group’s leaders.

A speech released May 5 by Osama bin Laden’s deputy confirms earlier fears that African-Americans are the No. 1 recruiting target for the next generation of attacks. Al-Qaida has been trying to lower its Arab profile to reduce the odds that its terror cells will be subjected to security scrutiny.

“Federal and local law enforcement authorities should be aware that al-Qaida terrorists may not appear Arab,” warns a recent Homeland Security intelligence report obtained by WND. “Non-Arab al-Qaida operatives could find it easier to avoid unwanted scrutiny since they may not fit typical profiles.”

In the latest message, al-Qaida No. 2 Dr. Ayman al-Zawahiri clearly seeks to sow political and racial discontent among African-Americans. He makes frequent references to what he calls the “martyr” Malcolm X, and says “I want blacks in America to know that we are waging jihad to lift oppression from all mankind.””

###
###

Previously:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/keyword?k=globaljihad
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/keyword?k=malcolmx
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/keyword?k=malcomx

http://www.internet-haganah.com/harchives/006056.html

18 May 2007
“Malcolm X in the warm embrace of the global jihad”

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