Threat Matrix: January 2008

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[nwctwx]

Still in Control

Pervez Musharraf was calm, confident and—despite a flurry of rumors—not about to announce his resignation. Instead, the Pakistani president's "concession" to his troubled nation was an announcement that he would allow Britain's Scotland Yard to help local law enforcement agencies with their investigation into last week's assassination of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto.

Speaking in a nationally televised address two hours after Pakistan's election commission announced the postponement of the ballot to Feb. 18, six weeks later than had been scheduled, Musharraf was notably deferential in his remarks about Bhutto, often invoking her "martyrdom" and extolling her liberal democratic credentials. "May she go to heaven," he said. "I stand for the same things she said." Read More

	Pakistan's Frayed Politics
	Musharraf's Dangerous Liaisons
	Pakistan after Bhutto

Threat Matrix:
January 2008

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[Cindy]

January 25, 2008

Note: The following text is a quote:

http://www.usdoj.gov/opa/pr/2008/January/08_nsd_061.html

Foreign National Pleads Guilty to Being Illegal Agent of a Foreign Government

Miami-Defendant Moises Maionica, 36, one of five foreign nationals accused of acting and conspiring to act as an agent of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela (“Venezuela”) within the United States without prior notification to the Attorney General of the United States, pled guilty this morning before U.S. District Court Judge Joan Lenard, announced R. Alexander Acosta, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Kenneth L. Wainstein, Assistant Attorney General for National Security, and Jonathan I. Solomon, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Miami Field Office. Sentencing has been scheduled for April 4, 2008, at 3:00p.m. before Judge Lenard.

The case against co-defendants Antonio Jose Canchica Gomez, 37, Rodolfo Wanseele Paciello, 40, Franklin Duran, 40, and Carlos Kauffmann, 35, is still pending. Trial is currently scheduled for March 17, 2008.

According to the Indictment and Maionica’s proffer filed with the court, the defendants coordinated and participated in a series of meetings, beginning in August 2007, in South Florida with Guido Alejandro Antonini Wilson to procure Antonini’s help in a cover-up of the facts surrounding $800,000 in cash that was seized in Argentina after being transported from Venezuela. Unbeknownst to the conspirators, Antonini was wearing recording equipment provided by the FBI. Special Agents of the FBI also conducted surveillance of the meeting. The last meeting took place on December 11, 2007, when defendants Maionica, Duran, and another individual met with Antonini to discuss the creation of false documents in furtherance of the cover-up.

According to documents filed in the case, the events culminating in this prosecution began on August 4, 2007, when Antonini flew by Cessna Citation, bearing registration number N5113S, from Venezuela to Aeroparque Jorge Newbery in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The privately chartered aircraft had previously departed from Caracas Maiquetía International Airport in Venezuela, carrying eight passengers on board, including, among others, Guido Alejandro Antonini Wilson.

Upon arrival at Buenos Aires, Argentine Customs Service inspected the luggage offloaded from the Cessna Citation, and found approximately $800,000 in United States currency in luggage being carried by Guido Alejandro Antonini Wilson. Mr. Antonini Wilson was carrying the suitcase at the request of one of the other passengers. Mr. Antonini was unaware that $800,000 was in the suitcase, as the suitcase belonged to one of the other passengers. The Argentine authorities seized the money and Antonini returned to his South Florida home.

The Indictment alleges that beginning in mid-August, 2007 and continuing through December 11, 2007, the defendants and other participants in the conspiracy, acting as agents of the government of Venezuela, sought to obtain the assistance of Guido Alejandro Antonini Wilson, a U.S. citizen who travels under both United States and Venezuelan passports, in concealing the source and destination of the funds in the attempted delivery of the approximately $800,000.

Mr. Acosta commended the investigative efforts of the Federal Bureau of Investigation for its work in this investigation. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Thomas J. Mulvihill and Senior Trial Attorney Clifford I. Rones, of the Counterespionage Section at the Justice Department’s National Security Division.

###

08-061

[Cindy]

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

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

#

http://washingtontimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080125/NATION/886850805/1002

“Super Bowl deemed a target in federal threat assessment”
By Audrey Hudson
January 25, 2008

ARTICLE SNIPPET: “The upcoming Super Bowl game will be a desirable target for terrorists, according to a threat assessment by federal security officials, which outlines several scenarios of possible attacks and security precautions for the Feb. 3 event.

“Among the threats of greatest concern to high-profile events like the Super Bowl are the placement of explosive devices in heavily trafficked areas in and around the event site, to include individuals impersonating law enforcement and other security or service personnel and insiders to facilitate attacks,” the threat assessment said.

Domestic and international terrorists have targeted major sporting events in the past, including the 1972 Munich and 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games, said the assessment compiled by the FBI and Homeland Security Department.”

[Cindy]

Checking in on peace in the Middle East this afternoon:

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3498599,00.html

“Fatah: More attacks to come
Al-Aqsa Brigades’ spokesman tells Ynet group plans more attacks in response to ‘Israeli crimes’”

Ali Waked
Published: 01.24.08, 23:52 / Israel News

SNIPPET: “Fatah activists belonging to the “Brigades of Return” and to “Black September” claimed responsibility for carrying out the shooting attack in Shoafat Thursday evening. The attack left one Israeli dead and another one seriously wounded.

A spokesman on behalf of the al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades, Fatah’s military wing, told Ynet that the attackers “returned to their base safely.”

The Fatah spokesman called a Ynet reporter to claim responsibility for the attack and said it marked the continuation of the organization’s new policy, as reported last week in another talk with Ynet. In that talk, the group said it was no longer committed to the calm with Israel and added that small cells were again active across the West Bank in order to prepare for a series of attacks.”

[MamaDearest]

He confirmed that later, in an internet chat, he had said he would kill Crusaders, but he denied forming a terrorist group, saying he and his friends had merely planned a relief operation for Darfur, Sudan....

Absolutely sascinating forum Cindy. Relief operation for Darfur????? Sure thing (sarc).

[Cindy]

It’s always interesting what is found on the internet.

[Cindy]

http://www.memri.org/bin/articles.cgi?Page=subjects&Area=jihad&ID=SP182608

Special Dispatch Series - No. 1826
January 25, 2008 No. 1826

“Major Jihadi Cleric and Author of Al-Qaeda’s Shari’a Guide to Jihad Sayyed Imam vs. Al-Qaeda (2): Al-Zawahiri Was Sudanese Agent – Sudan’s VP Ali Othman Taha Hired Him to Attack Egypt; Ban on Jihad against Egyptian Regime in Egypt; Summary of Imam’s New Right Guidance for Jihad Book”

SNIPPET: “Following are more documents from imprisoned jihadi cleric Sayyed Imam Al-Sharif, one of the chief ideologues of the global jihad movement. Sayyed Imam has recently come out against Al-Qaeda, and published a new book, The Document of Right Guidance for Jihad Activity in Egypt and the World, that forbids waging jihad against the rulers of Muslim countries and in the West. (For MEMRI’s first report on Sayyed Imam, released Dec. 14, 2007, see http://memri.org/bin/articles.cgi?Page=archives&Area=sd&ID=SP178507 )”

[Cindy]

http://www.memri.org/bin/articles.cgi?Page=subjects&Area=jihad&ID=SP182408

Special Dispatch Series - No. 1824
January 24, 2008 No. 1824

“Egyptian Businessman Yasser Salem Followed Al-Qaradhawi Fatwa, Sponsored Algerians to Go Fight Coalition Forces in Iraq”

SNIPPET: “The following are excerpts from a report on Yasser Salem, an Egyptian businessman involved in financing Algerian jihadists. The report aired on Al-Arbiya TV on January 4, 2007:

To view this clip on MEMRI TV visit: http://www.memritv.org/clip/en/1659.htm .

To view Sheikh Yousuf Al-Qaradhawi’s MEMRI TV page, visit: http://www.memritv.org/subject/en/589.htm “

[Cindy]

Thanks to fanfan for the ping to this thread:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1959731/posts

#

QUOTE - SNIPPET:

http://www.wsaz.com/newswestvirginia/headlines/14367822.html

BREAKING NEWS: Blue Haze Prompts Emergency Advisory Save Email Print
Posted: 2:07 PM Jan 25, 2008
Last Updated: 8:17 PM Jan 25, 2008
Reporter: Mike Waterhouse
Email Address: mike.waterhouse@wsaz.com
197 comments Photos
VIDEO: 6pm Coverage
VIDEO: 4:17pm Live Breaking News Update
VIDEO: 3:25pm Live Breaking News Update

A | A | A
UPDATE @ 7:58PM:
Dale Petry, the emergency services director for Kanawha County, says emergency response teams are setting up at different places around the county to monitor the haze & smell. He’s hoping special equipment on the response trucks will be able to help identify what is causing it.

Petry also confirms that county emergency officials went up in a helicopter Friday with DEP officials to see if the source of the haze cand be pinpointed — but they didn’t find anything conclusive.

According to Petry, firefighters went to chemical plants in the valley and set up monitoring systems — and no traces of any leaks were detected.

Right now: Petry says there is almost no wind, causing the cloud to stay put. He adds, though, that it is moving north slightly toward Sissonville.

[Cindy]

ADDING 1 key word to post no. 1028:

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

[Cindy]

ADDING 1 post to post no. 1028:

QUOTE:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1959675/posts?page=9#9

More...

Odor, haze linked to power plant emissions, DEP believes

http://wvgazette.com/News/200801250495

A chemical odor and hazy cloud that moved across the Kanawha Valley Friday afternoon appears to have come from a combination of coal-fired power plant emissions, state Department of Environmental Protection investigators believe.

John Benedict, director of the DEP Division of Air Quality, said his agency’s inspectors flew over the region in a state helicopter to try to pinpoint the cause of the problem.

Those investigators narrowed the source of the haze to an area “in and around” American Electric Power’s John Amos Power Plant, across the Kanawha River from Poca, Benedict said.

“By helicopter observations, it appears the plume from some of the power plants to the northwest of John Amos are kind of lining up and then interacting with the John Amos plume, and causing the pollutant to concentrate,” Benedict said late Friday. “I suspect these plumes are lining up and touching down generally in the Charleston area.”

AEP spokesman Phil Moye said his company did not believe that the Amos plant was having any operational problems that would have caused the haze.

Moye said company officials believe it is more likely that a “unique water condition” led to the odor and the haze. AEP officials are cooperating with the DEP investigation, Moye said.

9 posted on 01/25/2008 3:01:16 PM PST by FocusNexus

[Cindy]

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

#

The Friday Night STUCK ON STUPID award goes to Dodd.

#

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IJfMZv5G5Ns

#

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1959747/posts

“Dodd: USA is Nazi Germany”
The Daily Mail blog ^ | 01/25/2007 | Don Surber
Posted on 01/25/2008 5:20:37 PM PST by Doorkey

[Cindy]

Let's recap here and I added 2 keywords: Subway, Subways to a thread and TM.

ABC NEWS: "URGENT MANHUNT ACROSS EUROPE FOR TERROR PLOTTERS Spanish AG: 3 Cell Members May Be on a Mission to Attack Outside of Spain" by Richard Esposito and Paco Medina (January 25, 2008)

OSINT.INTERNET-HAGANAH.com: "TABLIGHI JAMAAT TERRORIST CELL CAPTURED IN SPAIN" (January 24, 2008)

JIHAD WATCH.org (NEW YORK TIMES): "JIHADISTS ARRESTED WITH BOMBMAKING MATERIALS IN BARCELONA MOSQUE" (January 24, 2008)

JIHAD WATCH.org (CNN.com): Madrid, Spain - "SPAIN ARRESTS THWARTED IMMINENT TRANSIT ATTACK" (January 23, 2008)

WESTERN RESISTANCE.com - blog: "SPAIN: REQUEST FOR LONGER DETENTION OF ISLAMIST SUSPECTS" (January 22, 2008)

BBC NEWS: "SPAIN ARRESTS 14 TERROR SUSPECTS" (January 19, 2008)

KHALEEJ TIMES.com (AFP): Madrid - "SPANISH POLICE ARREST 14 IN ANTI-TERROR RAIDS" (January 19, 2008)

Link

[MamaDearest]

Florida ISP said to host terrorist software

Security researcher is disturbed to discover an ISP in his hometown appears to be hosting an encryption tool used by terrorists.

[Cindy]

Adding a specific details to post no. 1032:

ABC NEWS: "URGENT MANHUNT ACROSS EUROPE FOR TERROR PLOTTERS Spanish AG: 3 Cell Members May Be on a Mission to Attack Outside of Spain" by Richard Esposito and Paco Medina (ARTICLE SNIPPET - Page 2: "Spanish authorities believe the intended target was the Barcelona subway system and that the plot would have used two to four suicide bombers wearing explosive vests that were to be detonated simultaneously while another plotter detonated three to four more devices placed in the subway, investigative sources told ABC News.") (January 25, 2008)

[Cindy]

Thanks MamaDearest for the ping.

COMPUTER WORLD.com: "U.S. WEB SITE SAID TO OFFER STRENGTHENED ENCRYPTION TOOL FOR AL-QAEDA BACKERS Updated of year-old software available on password-protected site, researchers say" by Jaijumar Vijayan (January 23, 2008)

DDANCHEV - blog: "MUJAHIDEEN SECRETS 2 ENCRYPTION TOOL RELEASED" (January 21, 2008)

MEMRI IWMP.org - blog: "AL-EKHLAS ANNOUNCES NEW VERSION OF 'MUJAHIDEEN SECRETS' SOFTWARE" (Posted at January 14, 2008)

[Cindy]

Yep, Florida.

http://memriiwmp.org/content/en/more_islamist_web_status.htm?param=IStatus

[MamaDearest]

Florida, again!!!!

That's an incredible list - it's a real eye opener how technologically adept these guys are. Hoping they are found eventually and spend the rest of their days in a "primitive" cell, definitely NOT the type of cell they are permanently part of. Thanks for the link Cindy.

[Oorang]

Thanks Cindy. I appreciate your handy-dandy compilation of links.

[drymans wife]

That was quite the compilation.

[drymans wife]

Good Evening ladies!!!!!

One computer and a almost 13 year old leaves not alot of
evening time.