Threat Matrix: February 2008

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[nwctwx]

Is the U.S. Failing in Afghanistan?

It was malice in wonderland at the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Thursday as Bush Administration envoys insisted things are getting better in Afghanistan, while angry lawmakers from both parties cited facts and figures showing just the opposite. Even the senior Republican on the panel, Senator Richard Lugar, found the Administration's claims wanting. "I'm not sure that we have a plan for Afghanistan," he said.

Long seen as the "forgotten war" eclipsed by Iraq in U.S. priorities, Afghanistan is in the Washington spotlight this week with the release of three independent reports concluding that without a change in U.S. policy there, the erstwhile sanctuary of Osama bin Laden would remain a failed state. Read More

	Why the Taliban Feel Confident
	Top US Officer Lauds al-Qaida Death
	US Air Strike Signals al-Qaida Onslaught

Threat Matrix:
February 2008

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[Cindy]

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1969529/posts

#

QUOTE:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1969529/posts?page=361#361

blog:

http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2008/02/mugniyah_behind_esta.php

“Mugniyah behind establishment of Mahdi Army”
By BILL ROGGIOFebruary 23, 2008 11:31 PM

ARTICLE SNIPPET: “Imad Mugniyah, the senior Hezbollah military commander who was killed in Syria earlier this month, helped form the Mahdi Army, the military wing of the radical Iraqi Shia cleric Muqtada al Sadr, according to an Iraqi intelligence official. He was described as a “co-founder” of the Mahdi Army, Naharnet reported, based on a translation from the Iraqi daily Al Zaman.

Mugniyah helped form the Mahdi Army after the fall of Saddam Hussein’s regime in April 2003. He recruited from the Shia communities in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, and then sent the recruits to Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley for training. “The 300 fighters were trained on the use of assault rifles, booby-trapping and kidnapping operations,” the unnamed intelligence official told Al Zaman.

Qassem Suleimani, the commander of Qods Force. Click image to view.

Once in Lebanon, the Mahdi Army recruits were sent to bases run by Brigadier General Qassem Suleimani, the commander of Iran’s Qods Force, the foreign special operations branch of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps. Hezbollah operates numerous bases in the Bekaa Valley, under the supervision of Syrian intelligence.

The links between Hezbollah and the Mahdi Army are not new. Mahdi Army fighters have admitted to training in inside Lebanon with Hezbollah, while Muqtada al Sadr also admitted his forces trained with Hezbollah and mirrored their tactics.

“We have formal links with Hezbollah, we do exchange ideas and discuss the situation facing Shiites in both countries,” Sadr told The Independent in August 2007. “It is natural that we would want to improve ourselves by learning from each other. We copy Hezbollah in the way they fight and their tactics, we teach each other and we are getting better through this.” Sadr also said his fighters trained in Lebanon while the Mahdi Army leadership conferred with Hezbollah over Israel’s plans in the Middle East.

Hezbollah is essentially the Lebanese branch of Iran’s Qods Force. Mugniyah was Hezbollah’s mastermind terrorist and also a senior leader in Qods Force.”

361 posted on 02/24/2008 2:30:41 AM PST by Cindy

[Cindy]

Note: The following text is a quote:

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3510453,00.html

Iran confirms March 2 as start of Ahmadinejad’s landmark trip to Iraq
Published: 02.24.08, 11:45 / Israel News

Iran on Sunday set March 2 as the date for President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s landmark visit to Iraq, in the first confirmation of the event from the Iranian side.

Earlier in the month, Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari had said that the first ever visit by the head of state of the Islamic Republic would be March 2 and he would meet with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and President Jalal Talabani in the course of his two day visit. (AP)

[Cindy]

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

#

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1975361/posts

“Small Towns, Big Gang Issues”
Los Angeles Times ^ | Feb. 4, 2008 | Tim Reiterman
Posted on 02/24/2008 2:33:20 AM PST by Misterioso

[Cindy]

http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/pa/pa_1161.html

Worldwide Caution
January 17, 2008

[fanfan]

Ping to post #1034.

Thanks Oorang.

[Godzilla]

placemark

[Cindy]

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3510669,00.html
(AP)

“Communist-inspired Christofias wins Cyprus presidential election”
Published: 02.24.08, 18:31 / Israel News

[Cindy]

http://www.wtop.com/?nid=25&sid=1350594
(AP)

“Taxi Attacker Strikes Again”
February 23, 2008 - 3:10pm
WASHINGTON (AP) -

ARTICLE SNIPPET: “Officials say the attacks appear to target cabs from Maryland.”

[Cindy]

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

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

#

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,332126,00.html

“Pakistan Blocks YouTube For ‘Blasphemous’ Content”
Sunday, February 24, 2008

[Palladin]

Thanks for all the updates.

[Mossad1967]

Palestinians plan mass rush on Gazan-Israeli border Monday

February 24, 2008, 5:51 PM (GMT+02:00)

Beefed-up Israeli military and security forces prepare to repulse thousands of Palestinians planning to crash the full length of the Gazan-Israeli border and its crossings at 10:00 a.m. IT Monday, Feb. 25. Non-lethal crowd dispersal measures were put by after Hamas blasted the Gaza-Egyptian border wall to open the way for one-third of the Gaza population to surge into Sinai Jan. 23.

DEBKAfile reports that the “demonstration” - from the Rafah terminal in the south to Erez in the north - is organized by the Committee for Breaking the Israeli Siege headed by Hamas, although the terrorist group’s spokesmen claimed it was a “spontaneous” protest against the Israeli blockade. This measure was clamped down in a bid to counter daily Palestinian missile barrages.

Israel’s military and security chiefs are conferring urgently Sunday night with chief of staff Lt. Gen. Gaby Ashkenazi. Israel is determined to thwart every Palestinian attempt to breach the border for a major incursion into southern Israel on the Egypt model. The entire South is on alert.

Egypt finally cracked down on the Palestinian invasion of Sinai after its foreign minister threatened to “break the arms and legs” of infiltrators.

Hamas publicists count on their “popular” protest against the Israeli siege to win more international sympathy Palestinian suffering than their first stunt, especially in Europe.

http://www.debka.com/headline.php?hid=5050

[Oorang]

You're welcome fanfan.

____________________________________

Canada, U.S. agree to use each other's troops in civil emergencies
Friday, February 22, 2008

Canada and the U.S. have signed an agreement that paves the way for the militaries from either nation to send troops across each other's borders during an emergency, but some are questioning why the Harper government has kept silent on the deal.

Neither the Canadian government nor the Canadian Forces announced the new agreement, which was signed Feb. 14 in Texas. The U.S. military's Northern Command, however, publicized the agreement with a statement outlining how its top officer, Gen. Gene Renuart, and Canadian Lt.-Gen. Marc Dumais, head of Canada Command, signed the plan, which allows the military from one nation to support the armed forces of the other nation during a civil emergency.

The new agreement has been greeted with suspicion by the left wing in Canada and the right wing in the U.S. The left-leaning Council of Canadians, which is campaigning against what it calls the increasing integration of the U.S. and Canadian militaries, is raising concerns about the deal.

SNIPPET:

On right-wing blogs in the U.S. it is being used as evidence of a plan for a "North American union" where foreign troops, not bound by U.S. laws, could be used by the American federal government to override local authorities.

"Co-operative militaries on Home Soil!" notes one website. "The next time your town has a 'national emergency,' don't be surprised if Canadian soldiers respond. And remember - Canadian military aren't bound by posse comitatus."

Excerpted

http://www.canada.com/components/print.aspx?id=403d90d6-7a61-41ac-8cef-902a1d14879d&k=14984

[Oorang]

Pervez Musharraf 'will exit in days, not months'
24/02/2008

Pervez Musharraf is considering stepping down as president of Pakistan rather than waiting to be forced out by his victorious opponents, aides have told The Sunday Telegraph.

One close confidante said that the president believed he had run out of options after three of the main parties who triumphed in last week's poll announced they would form a coalition government together, and also pledged to reinstate the country's chief justice and 60 other judges sacked by Mr Musharraf in November.

"He has already started discussing the exit strategy for himself," a close friend said. "I think it is now just a matter of days and not months because he would like to make a graceful exit on a high." According to senior aides, Mr Musharraf wants to avoid a power struggle with the newly elected parliament, in which his opponents will be close to the two-thirds majority needed to impeach him and remove him from office.

Excerpted

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2008/02/24/wpak124.xml

A Profile In Terror, Behind A Keyboard Suspect Charged With Leaking Navy Secrets
February 24, 2008

If appearance matters, Hassan Abu-jihaad is an improbable holy warrior. His demeanor has been painfully meek during the legal proceedings leading up to his trial Monday in federal court in New Haven, where he is charged with transmitting military secrets to terrorists. Mostly, he has been a bewildered-looking man in an oversize prison jumpsuit.

Little is known about him. He was born Paul R. Hall and lived in Southern California. He converted to Islam, changed his name and joined the Navy. Later, he would be recorded by the FBI laughing with a friend at an al-Qaida propaganda video showing an insurgent known as the Juba sniper killing American soldiers in Iraq.

Excerpted

http://www.courant.com/news/nationworld/hc-newterror0224.artfeb24,0,5927352,full.story

[Oorang]

Pattern of Bosnian and Other Links to Madrid Bombings Becoming Increasingly Clear

[Cindy]

UPDATED:

BBC NEWS: "'NO-GO' BISHOP DEFENDS COMMENTS" (ARTICLE SNIPPET: "Since making the comments in January he has received threats against himself and his family. Dr Nazir-Ali and his family are now under police protection.") (Last updated February 24, 2008, 07:03 GMT)

BBC NEWS.com: "BISHOP WARNS OF 'ISLAMIC AREAS'" (Last updated January 6, 2008, 18:24 GMT)

[Cindy]

Travel.State.Gov - U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE - Public Announcement: "WORLDWIDE CAUTION"

JIHAD WATCH.org (DAILY TIMES.com.pk): "'Misinterpretation of Islam -- root cause of terrorism'" (February 24, 2008)

JIHAD WATCH.org: "STUDY: 3 IN 4 U.S. MOSQUES PREACH ANTI-WESTERN JIHADIST HATE" (February 24, 2008)

MappingSharia.com

[Cindy]

You’re very welcome Palladin.

[Cindy]

Thank you for the post, Mossad 1967.

It seems Israel has a plan:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1963607/posts?page=1052#1052

[Cindy]

Note: The following post is a quote:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1975714/posts

Security agencies arrest Mullah Obaidullah AGAIN(maybe no catch and release this go around)
dailytimes.com ^ | February 25, 2008 | By Shahnawaz Khan
Posted on 02/24/2008 6:45:57 PM PST by Dog

LAHORE: Intelligence agencies have once again arrested the Taliban Majlis-e-Shura’s former defence minister Mullah Obaidullah Akhund along with two other Afghan nationals from Lahore, along with two other Afghan nationals, intelligence sources told Daily Times on Sunday.

The sources revealed that Obaidullah had been arrested in 2006 in Quetta and was released after around nine months, after which he fled to in Afghanistan.

This time he arrived in Pakistan to generate funds, the sources said, adding that he, along with Pakistani allies, had visited several cities in this regard.

The sources revealed that Obaidullah had arrived in Pakistan in the first week of January 2008, and had contacted several influential personalities with links to banned militant organisations. During their visits, Obaidullah had, during rapid visits between cities, convinced several people to provide funding to support the Taliban’s cause, the sources added.

Later, after arriving in Lahore where he was residing in one of the city’s posh localities, the Afghans’ meetings with financially strong business personalities continued for the sake of generating funds. After a tip off, the group was arrested and shifted to an unknown location, according to the sources.

They said that Mullah Obaidullah had been the Taliban defence minister during 1996 till the US toppled the government in the fall of 2001.

He is a senior Taliban figure and is considered by American intelligence officials to have been one of the Taliban leaders closest to Osama Bin Laden, as well as part of the inner core of the Taliban leadership around Mullah Muhammad Omar. Obaidullah is a member of the Taliban Majlis-e-Shura, or executive council, and is thought to be third in command, they added.

[Cindy]

blog:

http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2008/02/in_pictures_sons_of.php

“In Pictures: Sons of Iraq members turn over anti-aircraft weapons”
By GORDON ALANKO
February 24, 2008 5:22 PM