Threat Matrix: April 2007

Ahmadinejad Vows News Soon on Atomic Work
-Full Story-

Iran's president promised on Sunday Iranians would soon hear more news about the Islamic Republic's nuclear program, which the West believes is a covert effort to build atomic bombs despite Tehran's denials.

"The Iranian nation will soon hear fresh news about our country's nuclear transition," Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was quoted by the official IRNA news agency as saying.

He did not give details about any announcements or when the news would be released but Ahmadinejad is due to hold a news conference on Tuesday.

	Iran Warns Bush Not to Talk Unwisely Over Britons' Case
	IDF: Iran, Hizbullah Preparing for Possible U.S. Strike
	Iran Accuses U.S. Planes of Violating its Airspace

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Florida doctor accused of being al-Qaeda volunteer
Wed Apr 25, 2007

A Florida doctor accused of swearing allegiance to al Qaeda and agreeing to treat wounded militants has been unfairly ensnared in the scheme of a longtime friend, a defense lawyer argued on Wednesday.

Rafiq Abdus Sabir, 52, was arrested in May 2005 and later charged in a four-person conspiracy to provide material support to al Qaeda and another group listed as a foreign terrorist organization by the U.S. State Department. His trial began with opening arguments in U.S. District Court in Manhattan on Wednesday.

Sabir and his longtime friend Tarik Shah, a New York jazz musician, offered themselves as a "package," with Sabir providing skills as a doctor and Shah agreeing to train would-be warriors in hand-to-hand combat, Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Rodgers told jurors. "With these unique skills, Sabir and Shah knew that they could help al Qaeda," Rodgers said.

Excerpted

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070425/us_nm/usa_qaeda_dc_1;_ylt=AhkG_PtseQaGpIL23g.jo2EwuecA

Pamphlets distributed in Bajaur for release of ‘mujahideen’
Wednesday, April 25, 2007

KHAR: Unidentified men distributed pamphlets in the Bajaur Agency on Tuesday, demanding the release of “mujahideen-e-Islam” by May 1, and warning the government that action would be taken if the demand was not met.

The pamphlets written in Pushto were distributed early on Tuesday morning in Inayat Kalay Bazaar, seven kilometres from Khar. The unidentified writers of the pamphlets told the political agent and the assistant political agent to free Afghan and Pakistani “mujahideen” from jails, otherwise they would take extreme steps against the government and the political administration would be responsible for any untoward situation. The political administration has seized the pamphlets, but did not comment on the issue.

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2007/04/25/story_25-4-2007_pg7_14

Iran: Student pokesman Arrested

Tehran, 25 April 2007 - The spokesman of the Muslim Students Association at a Tehran polytechnic was arrested on Wednesday, Iranian news agency ILNA reports. Babak Zamanian was reportedly arrested because of interviews he gave to Farsi language radio stations that broadcast outside Iran. The students of the Amir Kabir Polytechnic made front page news around the world last December when they managed to prevent President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, on a visit to their campus, from making his speech. It was the first time since his landslide victory in June 2005 that Ahmadinejad had been challenged in public.

Dozens of protesters burned pictures of the Iranian president crying 'dictator go away', 'death to dictatorship' and threw firecrackers, forcing him to interrupt several times a speech and leave before scheduled.

"The direction of the university had been warned we didn't want Ahmadinejad here," Mehdi Hatefi, an activist with students' group Tahkim Vahdat told Adnkronos International (AKI) at the time, saying the organisers had tried to fill up the lecture hall with people from other universities.

http://www.adnki.com/index_2Level_English.php?cat=Politics&loid=8.0.408483218&par=0

Afghanistan: Taliban Commander Says Bin Laden Is Alive

Kabul, 25 April 2007 - Mullah Dadullah, the Taliban commander in the southern Afghan province of Helmand, has said that al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden is alive and he planned the attack in Afghanistan against US vice president Dick Cheney." Dadullah said this in an interview with Arabic satellite television channel Al Jazeera referring to the 27 February suicide attack on the main US military base in Bagram, when Cheney was there on a visit. The Taliban had claimed responsibility for that attack in which at least nine people were killed.

"We thank Allah that he [Osama bin Laden] is still alive," said the Taliban commander. "We know that he plans attacks whether in Iraq or in Afghanistan. As you know, there was an attack against the base in Bagram targeting an important representative of the American administration. The operation was successful and was the fruit of our work," he said.

http://www.adnki.com/index_2Level_English.php?cat=Terrorism&loid=

Bomb Making Materials Seized In Jolo

Philippines: Military officials seized approximately 1,320 lb/600 kg of chemicals that are commonly used in manufacturing explosive devices on the southern island of Jolo on 25 April 2007.

The chemicals, which mainly consisted of ammonium nitrate, were found hidden inside a minibus that was traveling near Panamao. Although an investigation into the incident continues, military officials believe that the explosives were to be used in attacks in Jolo or Manila.

http://www.asigroup.com/HOTSPOTS.asp

Thanks to a couple of Special Freepers for pointing me to this topic.

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

http://www.delawareonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070425/NEWS/70425041

“River grass trips up reactor at Salem complex”
By JEFF MONTGOMERY, The News Journal
Posted Wednesday, April 25, 2007 at 11:42 am

ARTICLE SNIPPET: “Nature pulled the plug on a reactor at the Salem/Hope Creek nuclear complex late Tuesday.

A heavy slug of river grass near the plant’s massive cooling water intakes disrupted flows, prompting workers to manually insert rods designed to control and dampen nuclear reactions.

The plant already was experiencing trouble with its cooling water circulation system, with two units out of service for cleaning or problems.

PSEG Nuclear notified the Nuclear Regulatory Commission that the reactor was taken to “no load” conditions without complications. Unit 2 was unaffected.”

http://www.nj.com/news/bridgeton/local/index.ssf?/base/news-8/1177075564155780.xml&coll=10

“PSEG considers fourth reactor for Salem Nuclear Generating Station
Friday, April 20, 2007”
By JOHN BARNA
Staff Writer

ARTICLE SNIPPET: “A fourth nuclear reactor is under discussion for the Salem Generating Station in Salem County the nation’s second-largest such complex.

The prospect was raised earlier this week at a Public Service Enterprise Group shareholder’s meeting in Newark.

“It’s exploratory,” PSEG Nuclear spokesman Chic Cannon said Thursday. “It’s keeping options open for the future.”

“They mentioned they are in exploratory talks with another company to build another reactor,” said Neil Sheehan, a spokesman for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission in King of Prussia, Pa.

The Salem Generating Station “would be priority choice” to host another reactor, Cannon said.

That’s the home of the Salem I and II nuclear plants opened in 1977 and 1981 respectively and Hope Creek, which opened in 1986.”

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

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/keyword?k=iran
http://www.jihadwatch.org/cgi-bin/mt-search.cgi?IncludeBlogs=1&search=iran
http://www.truthusa.com/IRAN.html

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

MEMRITV.ORG - Video Clips - Topic: “IRAN’S NUCLEAR PROGRAM”

http://www.memritv.org/Search.asp?ACT=S5&P1=148
http://www.memritv.org/Search.asp?ACT=S5&P1=148&P3=2
http://www.memritv.org/Search.asp?ACT=S5&P1=148&P3=3
http://www.memritv.org/Search.asp?ACT=S5&P1=148&P3=4
http://www.memritv.org/Search.asp?ACT=S5&P1=148&P3=5
http://www.memritv.org/Search.asp?ACT=S5&P1=148&P3=6
http://www.memritv.org/Search.asp?ACT=S5&P1=148&P3=7
http://www.memritv.org/Search.asp?ACT=S5&P1=148&P3=8

Transcript for Video Clip 1427:

http://www.memritv.org/Transcript.asp?P1=1427

4/9/2007 Clip No. 1427
“Events on the Iranian National Day of Nuclear Energy”

SNIPPET: “Following are excerpts from the events of National Day of Nuclear Technology in Iran, aired on the Iranian News Channel on April 9, 2007:”

TRANSCRIPT SNIPPET: “Mahmoud Ahmadinejad: Today, I can declare with that our beloved Iran is among the countries that can industrially produce nuclear fuel. As the servant of the people, I congratulate the wise leader of the revolution [Khamenei], the beloved Iranian people, and all the free peoples of the world on this great achievement.

Crowd chants:

Allah Akbar

Khamenei is the leader

Death to those who oppose the rule of the Jurisprudent

Death to America

Death to England

Death to Israel”

RECAP:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1822878/posts

“Palo Verde plant info leak prompts security-breach probe”
KTVK ^ | April 23, 2007 | Frank Camacho

Posted on 04/24/2007 2:53:01 PM PDT by 3AngelaD

RECAP:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1822706/posts

“Cheney: Threat of nuclear attack in U.S. city ‘very real’”
Chicago Tribune ^ | April 16, 2007 | By Mark Silva

Posted on 04/24/2007 9:39:37 AM PDT by needlenose_neely

WASHINGTON

Note: The following text is a quote:

http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=32944

Raids Net Bomb Components, Suspects in Afghanistan

American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, April 25, 2007 – A series of joint Afghan-coalition raids conducted over the past few days in southern Afghanistan have netted weapons, bomb-making components and suspects, according to U.S. military news releases.

Afghan and coalition forces found improvised explosive device-making components and ammunition during an early-morning raid on a suspected militant safe house yesterday.

Another raid performed the same day targeted a local Islamic school, which was suspected of harboring extremists. Both raids were conducted in the Garboz district of Khowst province.

Two suspected militants were detained as a result of the operations, officials said. The seized ammunition and explosive material was destroyed.

“Enemies of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan continue to place innocent people in harm’s way by conducting illegal activities within common living areas and schools, placing women and children at risk,” coalition spokesman Army Maj. Chris Belcher said.

Intelligence indicated the compounds were harboring terrorist facilitators operating in Khowst province who posed a serious threat to peace and stability in Afghanistan, Belcher said.

None of the children at the school were harmed in the operation, officials said. No one was injured, and no shots were fired at either raid location.

Another joint Afghan-coalition forces raid resulted in the detention of two suspected militants in Paktika province April 23.

Information led the combined force to a compound of buildings suspected of sheltering weapons smugglers working for the Haqqani network, officials said. The smuggled weapons are suspected of being used against coalition forces and peaceful Afghans in the area.

During the operation, one inhabitant fled the compound and was soon apprehended by combined forces unharmed. The other inhabitants surrendered and were not harmed. No shots were fired, and no injuries were reported as a result of the operation, officials said.

(Compiled from Combined Joint Task Force 82 news releases.)

Note: The following text is a quote:

http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=32946

Forces Capture Six Terrorists; Iraqi Police Find Weapons in Mosque

American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, April 25, 2007 – Coalition forces detained six suspected terrorists during operations around Iraq today, and Iraqi police and U.S. soldiers found a weapons cache inside a Baghdad mosque April 23.
Coalition troops detained three suspected terrorists today during a raid southeast of Salman Pak, officials said. Coalition forces were targeting senior al Qaeda in Iraq leaders and a group that provides foreign fighters.

Also today, coalition forces nabbed two more suspected terrorists during a raid north of Karmah, while another suspected terrorist was detained in an operation in Mosul.

“We are continuing to disrupt the al Qaeda network and stop those who harm civilians and security forces,” Army Lt. Col. Christopher Garver, a Multinational Force Iraq spokesman, said.

Meanwhile, Iraqi national police and U.S. soldiers uncovered a weapons cache at the al Nur Mosque in Baghdad’s Jihad neighborhood April 23 thanks to a tip from local residents, according to officials.

Forces from the 1st Battalion, 3rd Brigade, 1st Iraqi National Police Division, raided the location after locals reported seeing insurgents firing mortars and fleeing into the mosque. They also reported that the mosque hadn’t been used for religious purposes in months.

Soldiers assigned to Company B, 1st Battalion, 28th Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, cordoned off the area, as the Iraqi police entered the mosque to search for insurgents and contraband.

The Iraqi police found a cache that included four 155 mm artillery rounds, 21 blocks of military-grade C-4 explosives, two propane tanks with C-4 explosive attached, three rolls of wire, one 107 mm rocket rigged as an improvised explosive device, a rifle, and a roll of wire wrapped around a soda bottle, officials said.

No U.S. forces entered the mosque at any time during the operation, officials said.

In other news, U.S. officials announced today that coalition forces had killed a wanted al Qaeda leader linked to recent chlorine-gas bombings in Iraq. The terrorist was killed April 20 during a coalition operation, according to U.S. military officials.

Coalition officials said they’ve positively identified al Qaeda operative Muhammad Abdullah Abbas al-Issawi as one of several terrorists killed during an anti-terrorist operation northwest of Baghdad.

Issawi, also known as Abu Abd al-Sattar, was a known al Qaeda terrorist leader known to operate in the Karmah and Ameriyah areas and was the al Qaeda in Iraq security chief for eastern Anbar province, according to officials.

Coalition forces were searching for associates of a known senior leader within al Qaeda in Iraq. During the operation the terrorists engaged coalition ground forces with small-arms fire. Coalition forces responded, killing two terrorists, including the al Qaeda security chief, while detaining one person. Assault vests, weapons, hand grenades and suicide vests were seized as contraband.

Issawi had links to al Qaeda kingpin Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. He was also a weapons supplier to insurgent forces, officials said. He was also linked to recent chlorine truck-bomb attacks staged across Iraq. Intelligence reports also indicate that his terror network used 12- to 13-year-old children as car-bomb drivers.

“Abu Abd al-Satter’s death is a serious disruption to al Qaeda in Iraq’s (vehicle-borne improvised explosive device) network,” Garver said.

The terrorist’s demise also “represents one more victory in the war against those that would deny safety and security to the Iraqi people,” he said.

(Compiled from Multinational Force Iraq and Multinational Corps Iraq news releases.)

Cindy’s Note: I have no opinion on these articles/column. It is interesting reading at this time.

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&um=1&q=%22Daoud%20Salahuddin%22&sa=N&tab=bw

###

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,268520,00.html
FOXNEWS.COM HOME > FOX FAN CENTRAL > COLUMNS

“Levinson: Missing in Iran?”
By Catherine Herridge

FNC
Wednesday, April 25, 2007

SNIPPET: “In this week’s intelligence briefing, I investigate a mystery in the Gulf — why was a former FBI agent, a specialist in narcotics and organized crime, meeting with a wanted killer?”

http://www.storiesthatmatter.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=116&Itemid=1

“Trento’s Column: Levinson Had Damaging Information on Iranian Leadership”
Written by Joe Trento
Friday, 20 April 2007

COLUMN SNIPPET: “Iran is dissembling. Despite official denials, the government there has had former FBI agent Robert Levinson under their control since March 8. The semantic game they are playing has to do with who in Iran is holding Levinson.”

http://www.storiesthatmatter.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=115&Itemid=40

“Spy Wars: Levinson is Trade Bait in Iran”
Written by the National Security News Service
Sunday, 15 April 2007

ARTICLE SNIPPET: “The National Security News Service has confirmed that Robert Levinson, a retired FBI agent and private investigator, is being detained in Tehran after being arrested on March 8 by Iranian intelligence agents on the Island of Kish. NSNS sources say that Levinson, 59, is in good condition and being held by the Iranian government.

The Iranians hope to trade Levinson for a former defense minister they believe the CIA kidnapped in Turkey earlier this year, according to CIA sources. The CIA denies any involvement in disappearance of the former defense minister, Ali Reza Asgari, who was a general in the Iranian Revolutionary Guard. The Iranians claim they have evidence of the abduction by US intelligence.”

Note: The following post is a quote:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1823727/posts

17-year-old Dallastown student...(Jr. Marine Foiled Kidnap/Rape)
The York Dispatch ^ | April 25, 2007 | Brock Parker

Posted on 04/25/2007 10:51:00 PM PDT by beaversmom

Seventeen-year-old Travis VanKuren was walking to his car at the Wal-Mart in Springettsbury Township at 7 p.m. last Wednesday when he saw a man and a woman struggling in the parking lot.

VanKuren, a slim, 5-foot, 9-inch junior at Dallastown Area High School, took a closer look and made eye contact with the woman involved in the fight.

“She looked over at me and started screaming for help,” VanKuren said. The woman also screamed “help” at two other people in the parking lot who looked at her and walked away.

VanKuren didn’t.

Instead, he decided to help, and police say what the 17-year-old did next saved a 42-year-old Manchester Township woman from a man who was impersonating a police officer and intended to kidnap and rape her.

The alleged attacker, whom police later identified as Joseph Simon Holt, 20, of York, was trying to put handcuffs on the wrists of the woman who was screaming for help in the parking lot of the Wal-Mart at 2801 E. Market St., VanKuren said.

She struggled to get away and held onto a shopping cart with both hands to keep Holt from taking her away, VanKuren said.

Assailant let her go: VanKuren said he can’t remember if he ran or walked over to the woman, but as soon as Holt realized the teenager had come to the woman’s aid, he let her go and grabbed her car keys, VanKuren said.

Holt appeared to be trying to get into the woman’s SUV and drive away, so VanKuren said he approached Holt again, and Holt walked around the SUV.

“I asked him: ‘Sir, give me the lady’s keys back,’” VanKuren said. “My heart was pounding a bit. I was scared because I didn’t know what he’d do. But he looked just as scared as I was.”

Holt dropped the keys on the hood of the SUV and began to walk away. VanKuren said he stayed with the woman, who was calling police on her cell phone.

“We watched him as he walked away,” VanKuren said of Holt. “He kept looking back.”

Springettsbury Township Police responded and quickly located Holt near the Giant Food Store on the 2400 Block of East Market Street.

Holt, police said, admitted his plans to kidnap and rape the woman, and he was charged with attempted rape, attempted involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, attempted kidnapping, impersonating a public servant and several other charges. Last July Holt was convicted of attempted rape in Lancaster County.

Springettsbury Township Police Chief David Eshbach said the teenager’s intervention “saved this woman a very bad outcome.”

Proud of reaction: With an almost bashful smile, VanKuren said his reaction to the cry for help is “something I’m proud of.”

But the teen didn’t think what he did was too heroic.

“My car was maybe three spots away,” he said. “I wasn’t going to walk past her. It just seemed wrong.”

Word of VanKuren’s heroics is beginning to get out at his high school, however. Master Gunnery Sergeant Mark Jovich, VanKuren’s instructor at the high school’s Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps, said VanKuren’s actions are being relayed to every JROTC class as an example of leadership.

“We’re very proud of him,” Jovich said. “He knows what is right or wrong, and he steps up. It would have been very easy to walk away, and a lot of people would have walked away. He was calm, cool, and collected. That is leadership. I think he handled it exactly how he should have handled it.”

VanKuren, a cadet lieutenant in the JROTC, said he wants to pursue a career in the military, either in the Marines or in the Navy, like his father.

He also runs track at the high school and has a part-time job.

After he came to the woman’s aid at the Wal-Mart last week, VanKuren said he went home and then to a friend’s house — where VanKuren had to deliver a set of hair clippers he had purchased at Wal-Mart that day. VanKuren said he was buying the hair clippers for his friend in preparation for the JROTC’s uniform day last Thursday.

“He wanted to know what took me so long,” VanKuren said.

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

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

###

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1823743/posts

“China: Rain free Beijing opening guaranteed”
Reuters ^ | 04/25/07

Posted on 04/26/2007 12:11:43 AM PDT by TigerLikesRooster

“Rain free Beijing opening guaranteed”
By Nick Mulvenney
Wed Apr 25, 7:47 AM ET

ARTICLE SNIPPET: “BEIJING (Reuters) - Beijing’s meteorological bureau believes it can manipulate the weather to guarantee a dry opening ceremony at next year’s Olympic Games, an official said on Wednesday.

Rainfall is often made heavier by cloud seeding in the drought-stricken Chinese capital but scientists have also been testing “artificial mitigation of rainfall” and found it can be effective in small areas.

“We are talking about limited areas, the area around the National Stadium,” Zhang Qiang, head of the office of weather manipulation, told a news conference.

“We will provide a guarantee for the main Olympic stadium...we take various artificial measures so the rain falls before it arrives at the area.”

The opening ceremony will be open to the elements after a decision was made two years ago to cut costs by not building a roof on the National Stadium, known as the Bird’s Nest.

Wang Yubin, the chief engineer at the bureau, said studies of the weather patterns over the last 30 years indicated there was a 50 percent chance of some rainfall on the day of the opening ceremony, August 8 2008.

“The rain might have a negative impact on the opening ceremony,” he said.

“We have already conducted tests of artificial mitigation of rains, we will take necessary preparations for rain mitigation for the opening and closing ceremonies.

“Our measures are quite effective in a limited area but over a large area we cannot reduce this rainfall to the minimum, to be frank.””

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