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DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – In the rigid enemy-or-ally world view of Usama bin Laden and his chief lieutenants, Iran occupied a spot somewhere in between -- a state seen as arrogant, enigmatic and driven by self interest, according to newly released Al Qaeda documents. Yet there is also a sense that Al Qaeda recognizes the importance of Iran's role in the region and the need to keep some level of dialogue. The papers -- seized in last year's raid on bin Laden's Pakistan hide-out and posted online Thursday by the U.S. Army's Combating Terrorism Center -- portray Al Qaeda's...

Ahmed Ressam was resentenced this morning to 22 years in federal prison for conspiring to bomb the Los Angeles International Airport despite telling a judge that he recanted everything he has told the federal government about terrorist activities. Federal prosecutors had urged U.S. District Judge John Coughenour to send Ressam to prison for life — a sentence Ressam said he would accept now that he had cleared his conscience about his cooperation, which ended in 2003. Prosecutors pointed out that Ressam's defiance has cost two high-profile terrorism prosecutions so far, and that Ressam has actively tried to help the cases...

In the hunt for Saddam Hussein's billions, investigators have identified five networks of more than 100 companies used to launder money skimmed from Iraqi oil sales. Saddam's gangster regime set up shell companies in Switzerland, Jordan, Lichtenstein, Luxembourg and Panama, according to investigators. Those company networks and their banking affiliations were used to enrich the former Iraqi strongman, his sons Uday and Qusay, and other family members. "Ultimately, the money was stolen from the Iraqi people," said Taylor Griffin, spokesman for the Treasury Department, which is heading the government's laundering probe along with U.S. Customs, the Secret Service and various...

Respect, a "newsletter about law and diversity," is a publication of the New Jersey State Bar Foundation. It is geared for middle- and high school students. The recent Spring 2012, Vol. 11, No. 3 article1 entitled "Fear Propels Religious Attacks" by Cheryl Baisden is of particular interest, because while it purports to have a fair-minded stance, the fact that CAIR, or the Council of American Islamic Relations, is cited as a credible source sheds serious doubt about the objectivity of the article. In fact, CAIR receives "financial support from foreign powers who have provided direct support to Osama bin Laden,...

An al Qaeda video calling for "electronic jihad" illustrates the urgent need for cybersecurity standards for the most critical networks in the United States, a group of senators said. The video calls for cyberattacks against networks such as the electric grid and compares vulnerabilities in the United States' critical cyber networks to the vulnerabilities in the country's aviation system before 9/11, according to a statement Tuesday from the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. "This is the clearest evidence we've seen that Al Qaeda and other terrorist groups want to attack the cyber systems of our critical infrastructure,"...

Pakistani authorities have sentenced a doctor accused of helping the CIA find Osama bin Laden to 33 years in jail on charges of treason, officials said, a move almost certain to further strain ties between Washington and Islamabad. Shakil Afridi was accused of running a fake vaccination campaign, in which he collected DNA samples, that is believed to have helped the American intelligence agency track down bin Laden in a Pakistani town. The al Qaeda chieftain was killed in a unilateral U.S. special forces raid in the town of Abbottabad in May last year. "Dr Shakil has been sentenced to...

A Pakistani doctor who helped the U.S. track down Usama bin Laden was sentenced to 33 years in prison on Wednesday for conspiring against the state, officials said, a verdict that is likely to further strain the country's relationship with Washington. Shakil Afridi ran a vaccination program for the CIA to collect DNA and verify bin Laden's presence at the compound in the town of Abbottabad where U.S. commandos killed the Al Qaeda chief last May in a unilateral raid. The operation outraged Pakistani officials, who portrayed it as an act of treachery by a supposed ally. Senior U.S. officials...

A US soldier accused of plotting an attack on a military base after fleeing his post as a Muslim conscientious objector went on trial Tuesday wearing a surgical mask and manacled to the floor. Courtroom security agents behind him wore protective goggles, an apparent reaction to an incident in which the soldier, Naser Jason Abdo, who claims to be HIV positive, bit his lip and spat blood at law enforcement officers. Prosecutors called the first of 43 witnesses to the stand in a bid to show that Abdo, who fled his post in Kentucky, was gathering bomb-making materials and weapons...

With the lists of individuals wanted for links to terrorism by the Saudi Interior Ministry, it becomes clearer and clearer that Jihadist and Takfiri ideology has infiltrated the minds of the youth, minds of men of various ages, backgrounds, and social class. The surprise that came with the most recent list of 85 came with regards the 50th name on the list; the journalist Obaida Abdul-Rahman Al Otaibi.

SAYLORSBURG, Pa. -- Fetullah Gülen has been called the world's top public intellectual and the face of moderate Islam. He has held court with Pope John Paul II and received praise from former President Bill Clinton. "You're contributing to the promotion of the ideals of tolerance and interfaith dialogue inspired by Fetullah Gülen and his transnational social movement," Clinton told audience members during a video address at the World Rumi Forum in 2010. Yet others have branded Gülen a wolf in sheep's clothing and a modern day Ayatollah Khomeini. CBN News recently took a closer look at the the life...

In an escalation of America’s clandestine war in Yemen, a small contingent of U.S. troops is providing targeting data for Yemeni airstrikes as government forces battle to dislodge Al Qaeda militants and other insurgents in the country’s restive south, U.S. and Yemeni officials said. Operating from a Yemeni base, at least 20 U.S. special operations troops have used satellite imagery, drone video, eavesdropping systems and other technical means to help pinpoint targets for an offensive that intensified this week, said U.S. and Yemeni officials who asked not to be identified talking about the sensitive operation.

Do you recall a time, a few years back, when the media wouldn't shut up about a supposed outing of an agent? Yup, the left and the media were pissed. I bet you could just imagine the firestorm of coverage that would result if instead of a former Secretary of State leaking a name it was our President....right? Guess not: Just a week ago the establishment media was aflutter with news that a CIA double-agent had thwarted a new type of underwear bomb attack targeting U.S. flights in a plot devised by al-Qaeda of the Arabian Peninsula. But as...

Al Qaeda's Yemeni affiliate has released a new English-language training manual that offers American would-be jihadis details on what to expect when they join al Qaeda, but recommends that they consider staying home and "attacking America in its own backyard." Written by U.S.-raised al Qaeda propagandist Samir Khan, who was killed in a 2011 drone strike, "Expectations Full" tells Western recruits what hardships they can expect to encounter when they arrive at training camps in Yemen and other Muslim countries, from physical training and outdoor living to dealing with wounds.

Here's a disturbing update to last week's amazing story about the U.S. mole who infiltrated al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula and thwarted an airliner attack with a more sophisticated underwear bomb. Someone in Washington whose boss stood to gain from an election year story about alert intelligence operatives successfully protecting American voters at great personal risk leaked the heroic story to the Associated Press. The AP held the story until Obama administration sources said the CIA operative was safe. But, it turns out, the mole was not a CIA operative. The Obama administration had nothing to do with the...

SNIPPET - quote: Mohammed Abu Hasnath, 19,  of Blair Street E14, has been jailed at the Old Bailey for 14 months after he admitted being in possession of Al Qaeda’s on-line terrorist magazine “Inspire.” The young perfume salesman was arrested by detectives from the Metropolitan Police’s Counter Terrorism Command on October 13 last year as he was cycling along the East India Dock Road. Hasnath pleaded guilty to four charges of having copies of the magazine on his computer memory USB stick. The Central Criminal Court heard that he had also painted burqas on scantily clad women featured on advertising posters in the local area. As...

Just a week ago the establishment media was aflutter with news that a CIA double-agent had thwarted a new type of underwear bomb attack targeting U.S. flights in a plot devised by al-Qaeda of the Arabian Peninsula. But as the week progressed, a developing bombshell story got buried under President Obama’s gay marriage announcement. Not only is the supposed CIA asset not a CIA asset at all, but the entire operation was exposed prematurely and the double-agent’s life was immediately threatened by an intelligence leak that very well may have come out of the White House for political gain. As...

Abdel Hakim Belhadj, one of Libya's most powerful militia leaders, is quitting to devote himself full-time to politics, an aide said on Monday, in a vote of confidence for the fragile transition from rebellion to democracy. Belhadj, a former Islamist militant who helped topple former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi in last year's revolt, is to resign his post as head of the Tripoli Military Council and set up a political party, his aide said. His party is unlikely to be able to register in time for Libya's first ever election on June 19, for a transitional assembly which will draft...

The heat is on a U.S. official responsible for leaking details of al Qaeda's disrupted bomb plot to the Associated Press. On the Sunday talk shows, high-ranking officials in both chambers of Congress across both parties called for investigations and the prosecution of the man or woman who leaked details about the infiltration of al Qaeda's Yemen branch. Unlike previous situations, where government crackdowns on leakers has been criticized, this is appears to be a fairly clear-cut case of improper leaking. The mission, which resulted in the recovery of a sophisticated underwear bomb, was leaked to the AP before it...

U.S. and Yemeni officials say the supposed would-be bomber at the heart of an al-Qaida airliner plot was actually an informant working for the CIA. The revelation, first reported by The Los Angeles Times, shows how the CIA was able to get its hands on a sophisticated underwear bomb well before an attack was set in motion. Officials say the informant was working for the CIA and Saudi Arabian intelligence when he was given the bomb. He then turned the device over to authorities. Officials say the informant is safely out of Yemen. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity...

US sends troops to Yemen as Al Qaeda gains groundBy Anna Mulrine | Christian Science Monitor – Fri, May 11, 2012 The week after revelations by a double agent that Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) was trying to take down a US airliner with an underwear bomb, the Pentagon announced that it has begun sending US troops into Yemen. The move is part of a US effort to increase pressure on the terrorist outfit based in Yemen at a time when the Yemeni government is weak and only now beginning to emerge from a period of political turmoil....

The man, who risked his life to get close to al-Qaeda’s master bomb-maker in the Yemen, is of Saudi origin but holds a British passport, sources told the Daily Telegraph. MI5 recruited the agent for an operation in which the CIA planned to target the bomb-maker with a missile from an unmanned drone.

WASHINGTON — Last week, this column described a deadly suicide attack by the Haqqani network on a secure compound outside Kabul, Afghanistan, and the failure of NATO officials to heed human intelligence that might have saved lives. I wrote, "The intel provided included information on how to precisely locate the terrorists. When I asked why the attack wasn't prevented, I was told: 'It was HUMINT. Nobody pays attention to HUMINT.'" Shortly after the column appeared, a senior U.S. intelligence officer — and a friend — admonished me, "It's not just HUMINT." He described the problem as "institutional arrogance" and...

The U.S. dodged another terrorist bullet when a would-be "underwear bomber" turned out to be a double agent. The news became public this week after rumors had circulated in April that Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), a Yemini-based group that is now the chief terrorist threat against the U.S., had been planning a spectacular attack to coincide with the one-year anniversary of the American raid that killed Osama bin Laden last May 2. At first, the White House and other administration sources played down the rumors, saying that there was no credible information that an attack was being planned....

"The reason for that is the torture that my clientwas subjected to by the men and women wearing the big-boy pants down at the CIA, it makes it impossible ..." - Air Force Captain Michael Schwartz, military counsel for the defense of Walid bin Attash During the arraignment hearings, this comment was drowned out by white noise when the court security officer thought classified information might be mentioned. However, upon review, The Pentagon office in charge of the military commission tribunals decided nothing compromising was revealed and released a transcript on Wednesday. Schwartz' "big boy pants" was a snide reference...

U.S. President Barack Obama said last week that the Al-Qaeda was “on a path to defeat,” but Seth Jones, a former U.S. Special Operations Command senior adviser, says the evidence he has collected points to the contrary. Jones recently wrote a book called “Hunting in the Shadows: The Pursuit of Al Qa'ida Since 9/11”, .... Jones spoke with the U.S. News website last week about his theory of “waves” of violence from Al-Qaeda and what needs to be done to prevent the next cycle. “When you look at fatality data, what you see is three major waves of activity,” he...

The U.S. thwarted a bomb plot by al Qaeda's Yemeni branch aimed at bringing down a jetliner with a more advanced version of an underwear bomb used in a failed 2009 Christmas Day attempt, officials said Monday. The Central Intelligence Agency, working with foreign security services, was able to seize the bomb—which they believed was intended for a U.S.-bound flight—before the would-be suicide bomber was able to move ahead with his plot, officials said. Because the plot was headed off in its early stages, officials said the effort never represented a threat to Americans or to U.S. allies, nor did...

AP) WASHINGTON - The White House says the Obama administration does not and will not negotiate with al Qaeda even though it is concerned about the safety and well-being of a 70-year-old American aid worker kidnapped in Pakistan nine months ago. White House spokesman Jay Carney said the administration condemns the kidnapping of Warren Weinstein and called for his immediate release. In a video released by al Qaeda, Weinstein said he would be killed unless President Barack Obama agrees to the group's demands.

An airstrike Sunday killed a top al-Qaida leader on the FBI's most wanted list for his role in the 2000 bombing of the USS Cole warship, Yemeni officials said. The drone attack was carried out by the CIA, U.S. officials said. Fahd al-Quso was hit by a missile as he stepped out of his vehicle, along with another al-Qaida operative in the southern Shabwa province, Yemeni military officials said. They were speaking on condition of anonymity in accordance with military regulations. SNIP Al-Quso, 37, was on the FBI's most wanted list, with a $5 million reward for information leading to...

A senior Qaeda militant in Yemen linked to the deadly bombing of an American warship there in 2000 was killed in an airstrike on Sunday, the Yemeni government said, in the latest sign of an escalating American campaign to counter the terrorist threat there. Yemeni authorities said the militant, Fahd Mohammed Ahmed al-Quso, 37, who has been on the F.B.I.’s Most Wanted list in connection with the bombing of the Navy destroyer Cole that killed 17 sailors in October 2000, died in the strike in Shabwa Province in one of the rugged tribal areas controlled by insurgents. The Yemen Embassy...

The Arab Salaaf: AlQaeda's Racist Worldview Mareeg 02/05/2012 By Dr. M. Omar Hashi To understand the worldview of the ideological and racially-motivated terrorist movement of AlQaeda, it is important to listen to the voices of its core adherents. While visiting a London mosque in 2005 I encountered a group of Arabs known as Salaaf (the Inheritors) who for all intents and purposes form the activist core of the AlQaeda terrorist organization destroying Somalia, Afghanistan, and the Muslim world. The Salaaf who originated in Arab religious nationalism in the late 19th century believe that they have a divinely sanctioned mission to...

"...the lawyer for Mr. bin Attash, Cheryl Borman — who wore traditional black Muslim garb, covering everything but her face — asked women on the prosecution team to consider dressing more modestly so that the defendants would not have to avoid looking at them “for fear of committing a sin under their faith.” The women were wearing military or civilian jackets and skirts."

A suspected member of the Al Qaeda terrorist group, arrested in May last year in Germany, was found with a memory stick hidden in his underwear. Police discovered the stick contained a password-protected folder with pornographic videos inside it, but suspicious computer forensic experts thought there must be more. After weeks of analysis, they determined that one of the pornographic videos contained concealed documents detailing Al Qaeda operations and plans. The files were hidden in the video file through a process called steganography or concealed writing. The term steganography includes methods used for centuries, such as invisible ink, but now...

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- An al Qaeda website is now calling for recruits to set wildfires in the United States. The targets of the fires are areas prone to dry conditions, like California. Both Cal Fire and the U.S. Forest Service said they are taking the threats seriously -- but they're not worried, they said. The agencies tell Action News they're ready for wildfires, no matter what or who causes them. "Ever since 9/11 we've had a heightened sense of awareness for terrorism and we do talk about that," said Cal Fire Battalion Chief Julie Hutchinson. "In the last three...

Al Qaeda has called upon its followers to unleash massive forest fires upon the United States this summer. Published in the latest edition of the notorious terror magazine, 'Inspire', are graphic instructions for the creation and ignition of 'ember bombs' Detailed in the memorably titled, 'It is of your Freedom to Ignite a Firebomb', the magazine encourages any would-be terrorist to target Montana, because of the rapid population growth in its wooded areas. 'In America, there are more houses built in the countryside than in the cities,' explained the writer known as The AQ Chef according to ABC News. Reveling...

Al-Faroq Media Releases Meeting with Muhammad al-Zawahiri SITE Intelligence Group - April 27, 2012 Al-Faroq Media Releases Meeting with Muhammad al-Zawahiri Al-Faroq Media, an Egypt-focused jihadist media group, released a video showing a meeting with Salafist leaders in Egypt including Muhammad al-Zawahiri, the brother of al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri, and their marching with demonstrators in Tahrir Square. [Subscription - http://news.siteintelgroup.com//component/content/article/1844-al-faroq-media-releases-meeting-with-muhammad-al-zawahiri]http://news.siteintelgroup.com/component/customproperties/tag/Countries-Egypt

Documents call for use of drugs to infiltrate Israeli security and subvert soldiers, and urge Jerusalem Christians to convert to Islam picture .....

A US Army drone strike in March killed a German citizen who had joined the jihad in Pakistan. His death has the potential to reignite the debate over the legitimacy of air strikes by unmanned drones and may increase diplomatic tensions with the US. Diplomatic Powder KegOn the morning of March 9, 29-year-old Samir H. was in a large pickup truck in southern Waziristan when a remote-controlled US Army drone, several kilometers high, took aim at the vehicle. Reports indicate that at least one of the three rockets launched by the drone hit the target and destroyed the pickup truck...

A Bosnian immigrant accused of plotting to bomb New York's subway system as an "al Qaeda terrorist" has been found guilty on all counts, including conspiracy to use weapons of mass destruction, conspiracy to commit murder and supporting a foreign terrorist organization. Adis Medunjanin, wearing a black suit with a gray shirt and tie, gazed at family members as the verdict was read aloud in court Tuesday. His sentencing is scheduled for September 7. "I want to commend prosecutors for the conviction of Adis Medunjanin," Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said. "His conviction stands as a stark reminder of terrorists' desire...

New Delhi - A year after Osama bin Laden was hunted down and killed at his safehouse in Pakistan's military town of Abbottabad by elite American forces, an event that made splashing headlines the world over, strategic analysts across the spectrum agreed that little has changed and the al-Qaeda may be weakened but is still dangerous. While the American establishment is of the view that top leaders of the al-Qaeda, including Osama's deputy and current chief Ayman al-Zawahri, are still active in Pakistan's tribal areas, Pakistani analyst Hamid Mir says that a dead Osama is as dangerous as a living...

The hub for conterterrorism operations is the CTC's Global Response Center. At its entrance is a three-foot by three-foot sign that says, TODAY IS SEPTEMBER 12, 2001. It's a reminder of the urgency required to combat global terrorism. Along the wall are two photos of the World Trade Center and one of the Pentagon after the attacks. -Ronald Kessler, The Terrorist Watch, pg 188 A portrait of bin Laden burns in New Delhi on Sept. 21, 2001, after terrorism protesters set his effigyaflame. A report released in 2004 showed that not all those working with bin Laden have accorded him...

BLOW TO AFGHAN PEACE HOPES AS DOCUMENTS REVEAL BIN LADEN, ZAWAHIRI AND OMAR DISCUSSED JOINT OPERATIONS AGAINST NATO. Documents found in the house where Osama bin Laden was killed a year ago show a close working relationship between top al-Qaida leaders and Mullah Omar, the overall commander of the Taliban, including frequent discussions of joint operations against Nato forces in Afghanistan, the Afghan government and targets in Pakistan. The communications show a three-way conversation between Bin Laden, his then deputy Ayman Zawahiri and Omar, who is believed to have been in Pakistan since fleeing Afghanistan after the collapse of his...

“The secret authorization of brutal interrogations is an outrageous betrayal of our core values, and a grave danger to our security. We must do whatever it takes to track down and capture or kill terrorists, but torture is not a part of the answer – it is a fundamental part of the problem with this administration’s approach. Torture is how you create enemies, not how you defeat them. Torture is how you get bad information, not good intelligence. Torture is how you set back America’s standing in the world, not how you strengthen it.”-Senator Obama, 2007 "I believe that waterboarding...

On April 18, just days after a U.S.-led coalition wrapped up the first round of renewed nuclear negotiations with Iran, the Republic of Azerbaijan made an announcement. In a statement released online, Azerbaijan’s Ministry of National Security said it had “conducted large-scale special operations” to disband a terrorist cell of about 20 al Qaeda-linked operatives. The alleged terrorists reportedly had plans to attack “shrines, mosques, and prayer houses” in addition to “law-enforcement agencies.” Their intent, according to Azerbaijani officials, was “to create [an] atmosphere of .  .  . confusion and horror among the population.” Al Qaeda has operated in Azerbai-jan since the...

Ex-CIA chief defends waterboarding of al Qaeda leader Jose Rodriguez has no regrets about using the "enhanced interrogation techniques" - methods that some consider torture -- on al Qaeda detainees questioned after 9/11 and denies charges they didn't work. The former head of the CIA's Clandestine Service talks to Lesley Stahl about those methods, including waterboarding, for the first time and defends their use - even comparing them to the current policy of killing al Qaeda leaders with drone strikes. The Rodriguez interview will be broadcast on 60 Minutes Sunday, April 29 at 7 p.m. ET/PT. Rodriguez says everything his...

In an article in the current National Journal called "The Post Al Qaida Era," I write that the Obama administration is taking a new view of Islamist radicalism. The president realizes he has no choice but to cultivate the Muslim Brotherhood and other relatively "moderate" Islamist groups emerging as lead political players out of the Arab Spring in Egypt, Tunisia and elsewhere. (The Muslim Brotherhood officially renounced violence decades ago, leading then-dissident radicals such as Ayman al-Zawahiri to join al Qaida.) It is no longer the case, in other words, that every Islamist is seen as a potential accessory to...

Sunni insurgents who battled American soldiers in Iraq until their long-time enemy withdrew last year have turned their wrath on a new target: Shiite Iran. The fall of Saddam Hussein's regime on April 9, 2003, the dissolution of the Iraqi army and ruling Baath party and the rise to power of Shiites after 80 years of Sunni domination, buoyed Iraqi and Arab jihadists. Four months after most US troops left Iraq, the jihadists had to find a new reason to sustain their continued presence -- enter Iran and the Shiite-led Iraqi regime. "Armed groups always need to find an enemy...

U.S. intelligence officials are scrambling to confirm reports that Omar Hammami, the American-born leader of an Al Qaeda-aligned terror group in Somalia, has been executed. Unconfirmed reports surfaced in Somali media claiming the al-Shabaab jihadist was hunted down and beheaded on orders from a rival leader in the network. A U.S. intelligence official told Fox News that, if true, Hammami's death could be a turning point in the recruitment of Americans and western Europeans by al-Shabaab -- as Hammami was thought to play a prominent role in that western outreach

The al-Qaeda-allied group al-Shabaab executed US-born jihadist Omar Hammami on April 5th, according to unconfirmed Somali media reports. Hammami, known as Abu Mansour al-Amriki, said he feared for his life from other al-Shabaab leaders because of strategic and ideological differences in a statement released last month. According to Somalia's Gedo Online, Hammami was the only one absent from a recent meeting attended by top al-Shabaab leaders in Baraawe. Al-Shabaab reportedly hunted down Hammami after he left Marka in the Lower Shabelle region. He was reportedly beheaded on the spot and buried somewhere between Marka and Baraawe. According to the report,...

Mali's new interim president, who took over from coup leaders on Thursday, has threatened "total war" against the Tuareg and Islamist rebels who have seized half the country since the putsch three weeks ago. Mali's Interim President Dioncounda Traore Former parliament speaker Dioncounda Traore took the oath of office in the west African nation at a ceremony on Thursday attended by, among others, junta leader Captain Amadou Sanogo, who initially grabbed power in the March 22 coup. Mali's new interim leader - a 70-year-old mathematician turned politician who speaks six languages - is expected to soon name a prime minister,...

excerpt- Anything that retards Iran's nuclear progress is helpful. But even if the talks "solved" the nuclear issue—virtually inconceivable, given the measures the Iranians have taken to preserve their program—a bigger problem would remain: the Iranian regime itself. Whatever progress is made in the context of overlapping short-term interests, it will do little to change the long-term strategic problems presented by a hostile Iran. And Iran is hostile. It is one of the most underreported stories of the past decade: As we went to war in Afghanistan and Iraq, Iran went to war with us. Tehran has provided weapons to...