Threat Matrix: April 2007

Ditto, Ditto.

http://www.nleomf.com/
NATIONAL POLICE WEEK
May 13-19, 2007

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

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http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1824099/posts

“[South Texas BP]Agent wounded in border shooting”
San Antonio Express-News ^ | 04/26/2007 | John MacCormack

Posted on 04/26/2007 12:15:11 PM PDT by SwinneySwitch

ARTICLE SNIPPET: “A Lubbock-area man suspected of wounding a U.S. Border Patrol agent during a Wednesday afternoon shootout at the Rio Grande, was returned to the United States Thursday morning after being captured in Nuevo Laredo. “He’s in U.S. custody right now, but he hasn’t been arraigned yet,” said Border Patrol spokesman Sara Melendez.

Jordan Davidson, 21, of Ranson Canyon, faces charges of aggravated assault on a police officer.

Davidson is accused of shooting agent Jesus Aguilar, 28, in the hand during a confrontation at the riverbank in Laredo.”

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http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1823999/posts

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1823471/posts

~

http://www.officer.com/article/article.jsp?siteSection=2&id=35881

Officer.com Home > Officer Down News

“Border Patrol Agent Killed in Texas Crash”

Updated: April 26th, 2007 10:11 AM EDT

ARTICLE SNIPPET: “The Officer Down Memorial Page is reporting that Agent Clinton Thrasher was killed in an aircraft accident while assisting Border Patrol agents search for a suspected smuggler who had fled on foot during a vehicle stop.

Agent Thrasher was in radio contact with ground units while attempting to maintain visual contact on the suspect when the Cessna 182 he was piloting crashed onto a ranch in northern Hidalgo County, Texas.”

Note: The following text is a quote:

http://www.ice.gov/pi/news/newsreleases/articles/070425chicago.htm

April 25, 2007

U.S. charges 22 in alleged fraudulent identification ring based in Chicago
Cell leader allegedly ordered murders of competitors in Mexico

CHICAGO - The bustling counterfeit identification document business - which allegedly generates profits between approximately $2 million and $3 million a year for one entrenched Mexican-based crime organization alone - in and around the Little Village Discount Mall at 26th Street and Albany in Chicago’s Little Village community has become “competitive and violent,” according to federal criminal charges unsealed today. In fact, it turned deadly recently for one of four former members of the organization who apparently stole computer equipment and/or software from the organization to begin their own fraudulent identification document enterprise in Indiana. Yesterday, federal agents led by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrested Julio Leija-Sanchez, the alleged Chicago cell leader the organization in Little Village, on federal charges for allegedly paying $3,000 and conspiring with co-defendant Gerardo Salazar-Rodriguez, a fugitive believed to be in Mexico, and others to kill two of the fledgling competitors known as “Montes” and “Bruno.”

Salazar-Rodriguez allegedly discussed the execution of Montes in Mexico between March 31 and April 3. Montes was shot 15 times in an effort to portray the murder of Montes, who drove a taxi, as a robbery, according to the charges against both men and 20 other defendants. The complaint alleges that in an April 3 telephone call between Leija-Sanchez and Salazar-Rodriguez discussing the planned murder of Bruno, Leija-Sanchez said, “You know what would be good, to catch him around where you got Montes, kidnap him, and take him over by Pachuca, far away .... And then you take him to Nabor, so that he can cut him up in pieces.”

Julio Leija-Sanchez, 31, of Oak Lawn, was charged with one count of conspiracy to commit murder outside the United States. More than a dozen pages of a 113-page ICE affidavit unsealed today detail a series of telephone calls in which Leija-Sanchez allegedly discussed killing Montes and Bruno with Salazar-Rodriguez, 34, between February 12 and April 18. Their conversations were among numerous calls that ICE agents intercepted pursuant to court-authorized wiretaps since February, during the final months of the investigation, code-named Operation Paper Tiger, which began in late 2003.

In all, 22 defendants, including Julio Leija-Sanchez and Salazar-Rodriguez were charged in the same criminal complaint with participating in a 3 1/2-year conspiracy to illegally produce identification documents, authentication features and false identification documents. Yesterday, 12 of the defendants were arrested in Chicago, while 10 others are fugitives, including four believed to be in Mexico, announced Patrick J. Fitzgerald, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, and Elissa A. Brown, Special Agent-in-Charge of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Office of Investigations in Chicago.

ICE, FBI and Secret Service agents executed search warrants simultaneously at four locations: a basement apartment at 5366 South Campbell, which allegedly served as the primary office where fraudulent identification documents were produced, and where they seized two computer towers, printers, scanners, a cutting board, hundreds of blank identification cards, including social security cards and approximately $1,300 cash; the residences of Julio Leija-Sanchez in Oak Lawn and another alleged cell leader, Elias Marquez, 51, of West 64th Street, Chicago, where two laptop computers and cash preliminarily estimated in excess of $200,000 was seized; and at Nuevo Foto Munoz, a photo shop inside the Discount Mall at 3105 West 26th St.

The 12 defendants arrested yesterday were scheduled to have their initial court appearances beginning at 11 a.m. today in Courtroom 2541 before U.S. Magistrate Judge Sidney I. Schenkier in U.S. District Court. A list of the defendants and their custody or fugitive status is attached.

“Fraudulent documents are a favored method of terrorists and criminals for gaining entry into the United States to carry out their illegal activities,” said Julie L. Myers, Assistant Secretary for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. “The continued success of ICE and our Federal, state, and local law enforcement partners in bringing and end to those activities represents a considerable achievement in protecting the nation.”

Brown and Fitzgerald announced the charges together with Tim W. Viertel, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Office of the U.S. Secret Service; and Robert D. Grant, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The Chicago Police Department and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service also assisted in the investigation, which is continuing, the officials said.

According to the complaint affidavit, the fraudulent document organization originated in Mexico and is affiliated with a Mexican family named Castoreña-Ibarra. ICE agents around the country believe that the organization produces false documents in several U.S. cities, including Denver, Los Angeles and Chicago. Information developed during the investigation indicates that the organization generates millions of dollars in illegal proceeds each year in Chicago alone. Julio Leija-Sanchez allegedly assumed control of the organization in Chicago after his brother, Manuel Leija-Sanchez, 40, who also is among the 22 charged, was deported in May 2006. Manuel Leija-Sanchez allegedly still exercises leadership of the organization from Mexico.

The organization allegedly recruits illegal aliens to come to Chicago and sell false documents on street corners in the Little Village neighborhood, where individuals solicit business for the organization overtly. These individuals sell all sorts of false identification documents - such as driver’s licenses purportedly issued by a variety of states, immigration documents such as Resident Alien Cards (Green Cards), and other purportedly government-issued documents. In just one location in the area of Albany and 26th Street alone, there are as many as 15 to 20 illegal aliens at any one time selling false documents, the charges allege. When these sellers locate a customer, they obtain a photograph and personal information, such as name and address that the customer wants on a particular card. Once these sellers have accumulated such information from enough customers, one of the sellers will send that information to a document production facility where the false documents are made.

Members of the organization are primarily of Mexican descent, but the ethnicity of their customers varies, including American, Polish, Indian, Algerian, Arab, Mexican, Nigerian, Canadian, Haitian, Pakistani and Asian. Law enforcement is unaware of any occasion in which the organization declined selling fraudulent identification documents to a customer who had sufficient money to purchase the documents, the complaint states.

The affidavit describes various positions held by members of the organization, including vendors, customers, runners, lookouts and manufacturers. There may be between two and six manufacturers working in an office at any one time. Approximately eight to 10 street vendors are employed per shift in the parking lot and inside the Discount Mall, with two shifts per day - about 9:00 a.m. to 3 p.m., and about 1:30 to 8 p.m.

The charges allege that the various positions were held by the following defendants: organization leader in Mexico - Manuel Leija-Sanchez; Chicago cell leader - Julio Leija-Sanchez; office manager and shift supervisor - Elias Marquez; street supervisors - Eduardo Molina-Vasquez, Antonio Marquez and Chispa; street vendors - Miguel Cepeda, Jose Cortez-Perez, Armando Davila, Ricardo Gonzalez-Marquez, Julio Cesar Hernandez-Lopez, Oscar Monteil-Gerrido, Rafael Morales, Alfredo Muniz, Luis Perez, Oscar Perigrino and Ricardo Quintero-Lopez; runners - Oscar Perigrino and Alfredo Muniz; lookout - Angel Martin Dorantes-Vasquez; and smuggler - Raul Gonzalez-Marquez. The complaint alleges that the organization is also involved in the smuggling of illegal aliens into the United States from Mexico. Once these individuals arrive in Chicago, the organization provides them false identification and they then pay off their debt to those who smuggled them here by working for the organization.

It further alleges that the organization also requires technical support and office supplies to maintain the fraudulent document enterprise. The technical support and supplies come primarily through sources in Mexico, with Julio Leija-Sanchez’s wife, Cathy, later identified as Caterina Zapien-Ruiz, 28, of Oak Lawn, often coordinating the purchases of supplies from Mexico.

Based on undercover purchases and information obtained from cooperating sources, law enforcement believes the organization sells as many as 50 to 100 sets of fraudulent identification documents each day, charging customers approximately $200 to $300 cash per “set.” A set consists of a Social Security Card and either an Immigration “green card” or a state driver’s license. Each vendor in the organization is obligated to provide approximately $140 cash per set of documents to the organization and keeps the remaining profit, the charges allege. According to an intercepted call from Julio Leija-Sanchez in February, he said: “I’m telling you, we’ve been here for 20 years, and a couple of times they have caught people. Not us.”

The government is being represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michelle Nasser Weiss, Andrew Porter and David Buvinger. If convicted, conspiracy to produce fraudulent identification documents carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. In addition, Julio Leija-Sanchez alone faces a maximum penalty of life in prison if convicted of conspiracy to commit murder in a foreign country. Note, however, that the Court would determine the appropriate sentence to be imposed. The public is reminded that a complaint contains only charges and is not evidence of guilt. The defendants are presumed innocent and are entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

United States v. Julio Leija-Sanchez, et al.
JULIO LEIJA-SANCHEZ, also known as “Rogelio Garcia-Salazar,” “Adrian Perez-Benitez,” “Cesar Juarez,” “Savino Zapiel,” “Rogelio Garcia,” “Carlos Becerra Velasquez,” “Larry,” and “Salivas;” 31, of Oak Lawn; arrested in Chicago;
MIGUEL CEPEDA, aka “Muta,” “Cesar Ortiz,” and “El Monstro;” 26,of Chicago; arrested in Chicago;
JOSE CORTEZ-PEREZ, aka “Bigotes,” “Bigos,” “Aramon Montero-Cortel,” “Roberto Castro,” “Ramon Gomez,” “Alberto Gomez-Ramirez,” “Spider,” and “Tarantula;” 42, of Cicero; fugitive;
ARMANDO DAVILA, aka “Bikini” and “Tanque;” 26, of Chicago; arrested in Chicago;
ANGEL MARTIN DORANTES-VASQUEZ, aka “Angel Dorantes,” “Martin,” “Botas,” and “Vaquero;” 35,of Chicago; arrested in Chicago;
RAUL GONZALEZ-MARQUEZ, aka “Raul Marquez-Gonzalez,” “Raul Marquez,”; “Raul Gonzalez,” “Rauline,” “Raulin,” and “Rulas;” 58, of Wood Dale, believed to be in Mexico;
RICARDO GONZALEZ-MARQUEZ, aka “Rico,” “Ricos,” and “Chino;” 54, of Wood Dale; arrested in Chicago;
JULIO CESAR HERNANDEZ-LOPEZ, aka “Pabo,” “Pablo Hernandez,” and “Pavo;” 36, of Chicago; arrested in Chicago;
MANUEL LEIJA-SANCHEZ, aka “Reglas,” “Manuel Sanchez-Leija,” “Vincente Vince,” “Aguilar,” “Ricardo Leiba,” “Marcos a/k/a “Miguelito,” “Moco,” and “Enrique Felix;” 40, of Mexico City; believed to be in Mexico;
ANTONIO MARQUEZ, aka “Topo,” “Tomatillo,” and “Topoillo;” 35, of Chicago; arrested in Chicago;
ELIAS MARQUEZ, aka “Tio” and “Don;” 51, of Chicago; arrested in Chicago;
EDUARDO MOLINA-VASQUEZ, aka “Caracol,” “Arturo Vasquez-Laguna,” “David Ramirez-Montez,” “Edwardo Molina,” “Arturo Salizar” and “Rott;” 32,of Chicago; arrested in Chicago;
OSCAR MONTIEL-GERRIDO, aka “Rambo,” and “Rambito;” 29, of Chicago; fugitive;
RAFAEL MORALES, aka “Mollejas;” 36, of Chicago; fugitive;
ALFREDO MUNIZ, aka “Chuy,” “Lobos,” and “Chucas;” 30, of Chicago; fugitive;
LUIS PEREZ, aka “Ronas;” 23,of Chicago; fugitive; OSCAR PERIGRINO, aka “Primate,” and “Juan Carlos Sandoval-Hernandez;” 34, of Chicago; fugitive;
RICARDO QUINTERO-LOPEZ, aka “Porki,” “El Chato,” “Chicharon,” “Ramon Cisneros,” and “Cochino;” 33,of Cicero; arrested in Chicago;
GERARDO SALAZAR-RODRIGUEZ, aka “Larossa,” “Chapulin,” and “Labrosa;” 34, of Mexico City; believed to be in Mexico;
CATHY LNU, aka Caterina Zapien-Ruiz, 28, of Oak Lawn; arrested in Chicago; FNU/LNU, aka “CHATO,” age unknown, of Mexico City, believed to be in Mexico; Claudio LNU, aka “CHISPA,” “Dingo,” and Claudio Carrillo-Fuentes, 38, of Chicago; arrested in Chicago.

— ICE —

http://www.ice.gov/pi/news/newsreleases/articles/070425washingtondc.htm

April 25, 2007

“ICE expands document and benefit fraud task forces to six more cities”
WASHINGTON, D.C

http://www.ice.gov/pi/news/newsreleases/articles/070425pittsburgh.htm

April 25, 2007

“ICE investigation results in conviction for illegal exportation of defense technology
Pennsylvania corporation illegally sold night vision components to company in India”

PITTSBURGH, PA

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1824090/posts

“Major Fire in Oxford Street London”
Sky News ^

Posted on 04/26/2007 11:52:04 AM PDT by UKrepublican

http://www.satp.org
http://www.saag.org/searchb10.asp?search=pakistan&searchtype=all&B1=Submit

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http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/keyword?k=pakistan
http://www.billroggio.com/cgi-bin/cms/mt-search.cgi?tag=Pakistan&blog_id=7

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http://www.jihadwatch.org/archives/016194.php

April 26, 2007
“Pakistan: The Taliban takeover”

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

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http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=32959

“Gates, German Defense Leaders Discuss Military Ties”

By Linda D. Kozaryn
American Forces Press Service

BERLIN, Germany, April 26, 2007

Note: The following text is a quote:

http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=32960

Commentary: The West Needs a Defense System That Works

By Condoleezza Rice and Robert M. Gates
Special to American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, April 26, 2007 – Sixteen years after the end of the Cold War, the transatlantic community and Russia are not adversaries. Indeed, on a number of issues, we are partners. We both face a number of common challenges, among the most threatening is the possibility that a dangerous state will use ballistic missiles, tipped with nuclear or other weapons of mass destruction, to hold our societies hostage – or worse. Make no mistake: This is a real challenge.

Despite our best efforts, including notable successes in Libya and breaking up the A.Q. Khan network, weapons of mass destruction and missile capabilities continue to proliferate. We sincerely hope that the diplomatic efforts now underway will succeed in addressing the challenges we face from states like North Korea and Iran. We have made some progress with Pyongyang, and though Tehran still defies the international community, there are signs that it is feeling the diplomatic pressure.

However, we cannot guarantee success, and governments have a responsibility to defend their people. The logic of Cold War “Mutual Assured Destruction” does not make sense in today’s strategic environment. Today, we seek security based on more than the grim premise that we can destroy those who seek to destroy us. We need to be clear that the missile threat from Iran is real and growing, and it is a threat not just to the United States, but to Europe and Russia as well. Looking a few years ahead, other such missile threats will likely emerge as well.

It is with these new realities in mind that we are developing and deploying modest missile defenses. Our goal is to field systems capable of protecting not only the United States and our forces, but also friends and allies like those in the transatlantic community.

We speak of the transatlantic community because we have learned that our security is not divisible; that if our allies are not secure, America is not secure. America cannot “go it alone.” To ensure our common security, we need defenses in place well before a threat fully emerges.

Accordingly, we have approached some of our allies with the idea of deploying limited missile defense capabilities: 10 interceptor missiles in Poland and a radar installation in the Czech Republic. While the United States can defend its own territory without these additional capabilities, fielding them would enable us to extend coverage to most of Europe while providing improved protection at home.

Our strategy is to strengthen our ability to detect, defend against, and thus deter a missile attack. Missile defenses are part of contemporary deterrence and promote stability, as we saw last summer, when we activated our system for the first time in response to North Korean missile launch preparations. In that case, our missile defense system allowed our national leadership to consider a wider, more flexible range of responses to a potential attack.

Effective defenses also reduce incentives for states to acquire missiles in the first place, by undermining their military utility and thus promoting our nonproliferation goals.

We have come a long way from early programs and tests in the 1980s and ’90s. Since 2001, we have had 26 successful hit-to-kill intercepts out of 34 attempts. And 15 of the last 16 flight tests have been successful in the past couple of years. Given this trend of success, we are confident that these systems will work, and that they will represent a practical 21st century solution to the new threat we all face.

The system we have in mind is limited, and the missiles have no warhead at all. It is oriented against a potential enemy with a small arsenal, attempting to blackmail our people, sow chaos, and sap our collective will.

Development of such a limited system is realistic. Critics of this approach should also be realistic: This system is of no use against a huge nuclear and ballistic missile arsenal, such as that possessed by Russia. Talk of a new “arms race” with Russia is anachronistic and not grounded in reality: America and Russia under the Treaty of Moscow are reducing our strategic nuclear warheads to levels not seen in decades.

Security should be — must be — discussed in a cooperative, multilateral way. That is why the United States has consulted extensively about our plans over the last few years both with Russia and our Allies, including in Moscow, within NATO, and at the NATO-Russia Council, most recently on April 19. NATO and Russia have had good, practical cooperation on theater missile defense for the past seven years. We look forward to continued and expanded cooperation both in NATO and with Russia.

President Bush has reaffirmed to President Putin our desire to cooperate with Russia on missile defense, and a U.S. delegation offered new proposals for potential partnership with Russia in this area in Moscow on April 17. We both have planned visits to Moscow to follow up and advance our consultations with the Russians — Secretary Gates recently completed a visit on April 24, and Secretary Rice will be visiting next month.

Our collective defense is too important for us to fall prey to scare tactics, slogans from the past, or attempts to drive wedges between us. NATO has a role in missile defense. So do bilateral arrangements between America, our Allies, and hopefully also with Russia.

We all face an emerging common threat, and America has proposed a practical solution. Europe, above all, must know – based on its own modern history - that the time to cooperate is now, not when the threat is imminent.

(Condoleezza Rice is U.S. Secretary of State. Robert M. Gates is U.S. Secretary of Defense.)

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1824115/posts

“Answering Reid: A Letter From a Marine”
Hot Air ^ | 4/26/07 | Bryan

Posted on 04/26/2007 12:57:24 PM PDT by bnelson44

Note: The following text is a quote:

http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=32962

Coalition Forces Kill Seven Terrorists, Disrupt Car-Bomb Cell

American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, April 26, 2007 – Coalition forces in Iraq today killed seven terrorists and disrupted a vehicle-bomb network, military officials reported.
In Baghdad’s Sadr City neighborhood, four armed terrorists engaged coalition forces with small-arms fire, and the coalition troops exercised what officials called “proper self-defense measures,” killing one attacker.

A vehicle approached the coalition forces during the engagement, which occurred during curfew hours, when vehicle movement is not allowed. Coalition forces disabled the vehicle, which caught fire. Two occupants ran into a nearby building.

Four more armed terrorists entered the area and hid behind a stationary vehicle while they engaged coalition forces with small-arms fire. Coalition forces returned fire with automatic weapons, killing two terrorists and destroying the vehicle.

“We will continue to target terrorists wherever they operate, to diminish their ability to conduct operations against the people of Iraq and security forces,” said Army Lt. Col. Christopher Garver, a Multinational Force Iraq spokesman.

Coalition forces killed four more terrorists west of Taji, where intelligence reports indicated people with links to al Qaeda in Iraq’s vehicle-bomb networks were present.
Ground forces were searching buildings at the targeted location when they began receiving heavy small-arms fire from one of the buildings.

The coalition forces returned fire and engaged the armed terrorists, but were unable to subdue them. Officials said the coalition forces used appropriate escalation of force to react to the threat and called for close air support. Four armed terrorists were killed in the ensuing CAS strike.

During a search of the objective, coalition forces found multiple weapons and explosive materials and destroyed them on site.

Officials said they believe two women and two children were also killed during the strike, and noted that al Qaeda in Iraq continues to place women and children in harm’s way with their terrorist activities.

“Unfortunately al-Qaeda in Iraq continues to use women and children in their illegal activities,” Garver said. “Al Qaeda continues to demonstrate they do not care about the future of Iraq, and we will continue to target all terrorists in Iraq regardless of their titles or positions within the community.”

(Compiled from Multinational Force Iraq news releases.)

SeaWorld employee fired after Virginia Tech massacre threat

http://www.truthusa.com/IRAN.html
http://www.memri.org/iran.html
http://www.jihadwatch.org/cgi-bin/mt-search.cgi?IncludeBlogs=1&search=iran
http://www.memritv.org/Search.asp?ACT=S5&P1=148

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http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=32963

Petraeus: Interrogations Reveal Iranian Influence in Iraq

By Sgt. Sara Wood, USA
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, April 26, 2007 – Through interrogations of key detainees in the past month, the United States has learned a great deal about Iranian involvement in terrorist activities in Iraq, specifically the financing and training of insurgent groups, the commander of U.S. forces in Iraq said here today.

The interrogation of leaders and members of the Qazali terror network who have been in detention for more than a month revealed that Iran provided the network substantial funding, training on Iranian soil, advanced explosive munitions and technologies as well as arms and ammunition, and in some cases advice and even a degree of direction, Army Gen. David H. Petraeus, commander of Multinational Force Iraq, said in a Pentagon news conference.

When these terrorists were captured, coalition forces discovered a number of documents describing attacks on U.S. forces, including a 22-page memorandum that detailed the planning, preparation, approval process and conduct of the Jan. 20 attack on the Provincial Joint Coordination Center in Karbala, Iraq, that killed five U.S. soldiers, Petraeus said.

“Our sense is that these records were kept so that they could be handed in to whoever it is that is financing them,” he said. “And there’s no question, again, that Iranian financing is taking place through the Quds force of the Iranian Republican Guards Corps.”

The U.S. has learned more about Iranian involvement in Iraq through the detention of one of the heads of the Sheibani network, which brings explosively formed projectiles into Iraq from Iran, Petraeus said. This leader’s brother was in Iraq, and was the conduit who received munitions from Iraq and distributed them among the extremist elements.

“Those munitions, as you know, have been particularly lethal against some of our armored vehicles and responsible for some of the casualties, the more tragic casualties, in attacks on our vehicles,” Petraeus said.

The coalition has not found a link between Iran and the spectacular car bomb attacks in Iraq, Petraeus said, as many of these attacks are conducted by foreign fighters coming into the country through Syria. Also, the U.S. has no evidence that indicates how high in the Iranian government the knowledge of this involvement goes, he said.

Petraeus called Iran’s activities “exceedingly unhelpful” as Iraqi leaders and security forces battle al Qaeda, extremist militias, sectarian violence, and limited political capacity to rebuild society. The situation in Iraq is exceedingly complex and challenging, he said, and while there have been successes under the new security plan, perseverance will be needed for the coming months.

“Success will take continued commitment, perseverance and sacrifice, all to make possible an opportunity for the all-important Iraqi political actions that are the key to long-term solutions to Iraq’s many problems,” Petraeus said. “Because we are operating in new areas and challenging elements in those areas, this effort may get harder before it gets easier.”

GOLLY.
He sure made his intentions clear, didn’t he?

Thanks Jellyjam for the link.

Note: The following post is a quote:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1824119/posts

Algerian army kills leading Qaeda figure: agency
Reuters via ABC News ^ | Apr 26, 2007

Posted on 04/26/2007 12:59:19 PM PDT by james500

Algerian army soldiers shot dead the coordinator and second-in-command of Al Qaeda’s North African branch on Thursday, official news agency APS reported, quoting security sources.

Samir Moussaab, whose real name is Samir Saioud, was killed during a skirmish with an army patrol in the Boumerdes region around 50 kilometres (31 miles) east of Algiers, APS said.

(Excerpt) Read more at abcnews.go.com ...

http://thomas.loc.gov/

http://www.house.gov/apps/list/press/financialsvcs_dem/21moorwi_001_xml.pdf

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http://counterterrorismblog.org/2007/04/house_bill_introduced_to_requi.php

“House bill introduced to require State & Treasury cooperation on Countering Terrorism Financing”
By Aaron Mannes

ARTICLE SNIPPET: “Three members of the House Financial Services Committee, including Chairman Barney Frank, introduced a bill to improve coordination between the major players in counterterrorism financing, particularly Treasury and State.”

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

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http://jamestown.org/terrorism/news/article.php?articleid=2373348

TERRORISM MONITOR
“The Leading Factions Behind the Somali Insurgency”
By Andrew McGregor

(April 26, 2007)

http://jamestown.org/terrorism/news/article.php?articleid=2373350

TERRORISM MONITOR
Guide to the Armed Groups Operating in the Niger Delta - Part 2
By James Briggs
(April 26, 2007)

#

http://www.jamestown.org/terrorism/news/article.php?issue_id=4070

TERRORISM MONITOR
Guide to the Armed Groups Operating in the Niger Delta - Part 1
By James Briggs
(April 12, 2007)

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

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/keyword?k=pakistan
http://www.jihadwatch.org/cgi-bin/mt-search.cgi?IncludeBlogs=1&search=pakistan
http://www.billroggio.com/cgi-bin/cms/mt-search.cgi?tag=Pakistan&blog_id=7

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http://jamestown.org/terrorism/news/article.php?articleid=2373351

TERRORISM MONITOR
“Dressed in Black: A Look at Pakistan’s Radical Women”
By Farhana Ali

ARTICLE SNIPPET: “Radical women in Pakistan are increasingly being used by male jihadi groups and extremists, including religious political parties, to serve their interests and promote their cause.”

ARTICLE SNIPPET: “The Birth of Female Jihadi Groups

The “Talibanization” of women in Pakistan occurred years ago. During the Afghan jihad, while men fought on the battlefield, women played key roles as mothers, daughters and wives of male jihadis. Traditionally, they provided logistics and facilitation support to their men. Articles by and for women during and after the Afghan war against the Soviets figured prominently in jihadi magazines published in Peshawar. In one editorial, a woman indicated, “We stand shoulder to shoulder with our men, supporting them, helping them…We educate their sons and we prepare ourselves…We march in the path of jihad for the sake of Allah, and our goal is Shahada [martyrdom].” Like the women supporting the Afghan jihad, the Jamia Hafsa women indicated their right to conduct suicide attacks against “those who are against Islam. We are oppressed and an oppressed community has the right to register its protest” (Daily Times, February 2).

Muslim women fighting alongside Muslim men in other conflicts in the Islamic world also share the same spirit of jihad. They include Palestinian, Chechen, European Muslim converts and the women of al-Qaeda [3]. In most cases, participation in violent acts is partly the result of the women’s shared sense of identity with the cause as well as their familial connection to the male jihadis [4].”

ARTICLE SNIPPET: “Radicalization of Women

The emerging trend of women being motivated by men to chant slogans of jihad can also be traced to female-only dars (religious gatherings) across Pakistan and is evident in women’s right-wing publications.”

ARTICLE SNIPPET: “Time to Act

The fact that male jihadis could drive these women to become tomorrow’s suicide bombers has serious implications for the war on terrorism and the region’s security. It is unclear if Pakistan’s extremist women would conduct suicide attacks. The former information minister told the author, “I do not think these girls can be suicide bombers; they are timid and lack historical perspective like that of the Palestinians. However, I cannot predict the future.” Regardless of their operational capability, Pakistan’s radical women pose a threat to civil society, law and order and the forces of moderate and liberal Islam that have permeated Pakistan since its independence. Absent an immediate solution to the Jamia Hafsa crisis—and the images of women in black—the government of Pakistan will be viewed with skepticism by the international community and some might judge the country too harshly as an unwilling partner in the war on terrorism. Such perceptions, while falsely construed, can be damaging to U.S.-Pakistan relations and could further the opposition’s view that Pakistan is allied with firebrand clerics and jihadi groups.”

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

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Note: The following post is a quote:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1824185/posts

France: Woman attacked for wearing Star of David (by “yoots”)
YNet ^ | Apr. 26, 2007 | Yael Branovsky

Posted on 04/26/2007 2:45:51 PM PDT by Alouette

22-year-old French woman says youths of Middle Eastern origin snatched her Star of David necklace, lifted her shirt and drew a swastika on her stomach

Yael Branovsky Published: 04.26.07, 23:41 / Israel Jewish Scene

A 22-year-old French woman said Thursday she was the victim of an anti-Semitic attack by two youths at an underground train station in Marseille.

The youths, who the woman said were of Middle Eastern origin, snatched her Star of David necklace, then lifted her shirt and drew a swastika on her stomach before fleeing the scene.

According to the Jewish Agency, the French police have refrained from releasing the details of the incident before it was proven that the attack was motivated by anti-Semitism.

The head of the Jewish Agency delegation in France, David Roche, told Ynet that representatives of the local Jewish community would continue to follow the investigation.

“We will be in touch with the woman and provide her with all the help she needs,” he said, adding that the attack was the most severe anti-Semitic incident in France since the murder of Ilan Halimi in February 2006.

Jewish Agency Chairman Ze’ev Bielski released a statement saying that “specifically during the course of the largest display of democracy France has known in many years this barbaric act is carried out.

“We are doing our utmost so that the issue of the fight against anti-Semitism will top the agenda of the candidates for the presidency and of the candidate who is elected,” he said.